Ippiki Ookami

It had been a cold, cloudy day when Mangetsu was found. No one knew of her exact origin, only that she was tied to a tree when she was found, left for death. The Nida family had stumbled across her somehow, untied her, then carried her home with them. No one could be sure of who tied her there, nor did anyone know why. They simply knew that Mangetsu had never been a normal child, nor would she ever be.

When the Nidas found her, a long golden chain with something that appeared to be a half moon on it was around her neck. They thought maybe it could give them a clue to where she was from, but no, the necklace gave them no information about the small child at all. She appeared to be about two when Mrs. Nida stumbled across her accidently. Her eyes, which had been half closed, were like the moon itself, her hair a reflection of the glowing ball's light. What amazed them about the child was her extraordinary beauty for one so young. From the time she met everyone's eyes, they knew she had to have been created in the shadow of the stars and moon, thus earning her the name Mangetsu, meaning full moon.

Little did they know this moon was not complete, yet.


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Mangetsu sighed, frustrated. Where the hell were her parents?! She looked at her watch, eyeing the time wearily. They were already fifteen minutes late for their 'meeting'. Mangetsu wasn't quite sure what this was about, she only knew that her parents had told her to meet them at a special place in the woods at 5 PM. It seemed particulary strange to her that her parents had arranged a meeting with her on her seventeenth birthday. After all, today was supposed to be a day of celebration, right?
Quite frankly, Mangetsu just wanted to get this over with and be punished if she had done something wrong so she could get back to celebrating her birthday. She wasn't going to have a party, because it seemed kind of pointless to have one when you weren't going to invite anyone. Mangetsu had never been a popular person, in school, in her town, not even in her family; She had been the outcast all her life, but she was used to it. It didn't bother her anymore. She learned to be alone, to do thiings alone, to make it on her own. Who needed friends?

The teenager sighed for the umpeenth time that day, while brushing silver locks out of her face nonchalantly. If her parents didn't show up in 5 minutes, she would leave this place and search for them till they told her what was up. After a few more minutes of waiting, Mangestu looked up to see the door opening and her very stressed out mother step in.

"Okaa-san, what's the matter? You look like you haven't slept in days," Mangetsu remarked.

Ashitaba Nida shook her head, studying Mangetsu with her dark eyes. "I haven't slept in days, Mangetsu," her Okaa-san replied softly.

The young girl shook her head, looking down. "Where's father? I thought he was coming, too."

Ashitaba brushed herself off and took a seat beside Mangetsu. "He didn't want to come. Brr, it's cold in here, isn't it?" She wrapped her arms around herself.

"Don't try to change the subject, Okaa-san," Mangetsu told her quietly. "What's this about?"

Her mother put her head in her hands and sniffed. "Mangetsu..."

Mangetsu gave her an impatient look. "Just say it, Okaa-san."

Ashitaba let out the breath she had been holding. "I'm sorry, Mangetsu.. but, your father and I..we've been hiding something from you. We..w-we're n-not your real parents," her Okaa-san responded shakily.

The seventeen-year-old's eyes widened. What was that supposed to mean?? "Okaa-san, w-what do you mean by that?"

Her mother didn't answer. Instead, she began to weep quietly.

When Mangetsu heard her mother's silence, she started to laugh shakily. "Oh, I get it now. A birthday joke, ne? Very funny, Okaa-san," commented Mangetsu, rolling her eyes.

Her mother's sobbing became increasingly louder, until the girl realized it wasn't a joke.

"Okaa-san? What's the meaning of this?! What the hell do you mean you're not my real parents?!"

"G-gomen, M-Mangetsu, we couldn't tell you before, but--"

"That's not excuse! Oh, so one day on my birthday you just come in here and say, oh well guess what Mangetsu, we're not your parents!! So sorry!" The golden-eyed teen yelled furiously.

"G-gomen..."

"Well, guess what, Okaa-san? Sorry doesn't cut it!" Mangetsu grabbed her suede jacket off the back of her chair and proceeded to put it on.

"No, Mangetsu, don't leave," her mother gasped, choking on tears.

"Why the hell shouldn't I?!"

"Because, you..you're right, and..you have to know who you are, where you came from.." Her mother trailed off.

At this, the girl froze. "Who I am and where I came from? Okaa-san, what do you--"

"It was stormy," her mother told her, her voice now a little stronger, "when we found you. It had been raining all day long and the weather was cold. Haoya and I had been walking around, just goofing off, when we saw a small child against a tree. At first, we thought she was leaning against the tree, crying. So we approached her, to see what was wrong, only to find out that she was in fact tied to that tree. So, being civilized people, we untied her, wrapped a blanket around her, and carried her home. That child was you."

Mangetsu didn't know what to say. She was in shock, furious, hurt, and confused all at the same time. She just couldn't take all this in at one time. Mangetsu refused to believe all this. It just couldn't be true!

"Please, Okaa-san, tell me you're joking," she replied quietly. "Please."

Ashitaba shook her head. "I'm sorry.., but I'm not. This is all true. Do you know what this means?" She questioned her quietly.

"That you're not my real parents?"

Ashitaba sighed. "Mangetsu, when we found you, you had a necklace around your neck, the very same one you wear now. We believe it may be a clue to where your real parents are. Mangetsu, we chose to tell you at this time because you are on your way to becoming a woman. You now have responsibilities. We believe the time is right..for you to leave home."

The girl was taken aback. "Leave home? What for?"

Drawing herself to her full height, Ashitaba touched her "daughter's" face gently. "You must go in search of your parents, Mangetsu. You must search and find your destiny, for it doesn't lie here, that I know for sure."

"My..destiny?"

"Yes. You will be leaving tomorrow morning. Your father and I would love it if you kept in touch with us, but..you do not have to."

Mangetsu studied her mother's face for any sign of humor, but there was only seriousness. "But Okaa-san, where will I go?!"

"I cannot tell you where you will go, my child. You must figure that out on your own. Go wherever your heart takes you. Now, we can go back up to the house, if you like. We have a lot of packing to do.."

The silver-haired woman swallowed hard. 'Wherever my heart takes me? That doesn't sound too clear..'

She really wished someone would thoroughly explain to her everything that had just happened. She wished someone would just tell her what to do..

"You must choose your own path, Mangetsu. Choose wisely. Come now, and we can eat dinner."

Mangetsu followed her "Okaa-san" all the way to her home. She was in such deep thought she wasn't even aware that she had somehow ended up at the kitchen table. What would happen now?