You've all heard the story I'm sure. Last time, when I told you about my mother, the man she loved, and the unique blood he carried in him. That same unique blood that gave life to my brother Ame and myself, and gave our mother such a hard time as she struggled to raise two children who carried both the blood of humans and wolves. The same blood that caused me to harm an innocent boy who was only trying to be my friend, and was a struggle to live with for a number of years. It's been a little over 6 years since that day Ame left. I graduated high school, and got into my first choice college. Up until then, my life was little more exciting than that of any other student. My wolf blood had all but gone completely dormant. On occasion I would wake up to find myself in my wolf form, and usually have to replace the torn sheets because of it. It was because of that I chose to live alone. A small rental house in the city, with only a few neighbors who were kind, but mostly kept to themselves. On occasion they complained about hearing howling coming from my house in the middle of the night, and I managed to convince them I had left the TV on and it was some sort of bad werewolf movie.

Only one of my grade school friends was still around after all these years. Shino had gone to the same boarding school during her 4 years of high school, and gotten into the same college, both of us on a volleyball scholarship. Of course that wasn't enough to cover all expenses. I managed to get a simple job, working in customer service, and Shino worked retail. Neither were what one could call glamorous, but they did provide the money to help us get by. I always managed to save some, something I learned both in high school and from my mother. If I had to name one thing I regretted being away at college, it was the difficulty going to see Mom. I didn't have the money for a vehicle of my own, and it was difficult to find any public transportation that went on an 8 hour route. Airline tickets weren't exactly affordable either, so I was completely on my own. Mom still lived in that big old house, and we kept in touch by phone when we could. She always reminded me to keep my wolf blood secret. Her worry was understandable. Were that secret to get out, life would never be the same. Not for me, nor for her. There was only one thing I occasionally thought of that made me fearful; Souhei. Even though we hadn't seen each other in so long, I still suspected that he knew the truth. I never could confirm it, but it did make me worry from time to time. If only we could meet one more time, I could ensure myself that he didn't know, and that our secret was safe. It was rare I thought about that, though. At least, for a time it was.

I was starting into my second year in college, and Shino was as well. The classes had been difficult, and they were a struggle for both of us, barely managing to pass our classes in the first year. On top of that, the need to keep on top of our game physically made for very little free time. Between training, studying, classes, and work, I barely had time to cook dinner for myself. The rare free day was usually spent in recovery, relaxing with a good meal, reading a good book, and sometimes, just watching the clouds out the window. It was orientation day for our second year, and all the new students had made their way in. Shino's eyes lit up as she looked out over the other students. "Hey, Yuki. Did you see who I saw?" she asked, to which I shook my head. "Well, I couldn't be sure until I saw his ear, but I swear that's Souhei. You know, that boy in grade school who said a wolf attacked him?"
I thought I felt my heart stop as I heard her say that. Could it really be Souhei? I shuddered to think. The one person outside my family who might know my secret, and who knew how many people he'd told if he did know it? Did he even remember me? Was it really him? So many questions ran through my mind. I slowly turned to look, hoping it wasn't him, but when my eyes laid on him, there was no doubt. That rough, short spiky hair, that silly grin, and the unmistakable scar on his right ear caused by my own claws. It was Souhei. The first time I'd seen him in 6 years, and I should have been happy for him, but all I felt was fear and worry. A little voice in my head reminded me of what I had done to him, and kept telling me that my secret was out, that my life as I knew it was about to come crashing down. I wanted to run, to get away from him, but the memory of that day came back. If he was just as tenacious as before, it would end badly. That was how that accident came to pass the first time.

Once we had the chance to go around and meet the other student, it took all my strength just to approach him, but I managed to force my scared body to approach. One of the other students motioned towards me, and as he turned to see me, that goofy grin surfaced on his face again. "Well, hey there. Certainly has been a long time. Yumi, was it?"

"No, it's Yuki," I said, correcting him. "And you're...Souhei. We went to grade school together."
"Yeah, I know. I was just messing with you, Yuki. You didn't think I'd forget, did you?" My heart sank as he said that, worried he meant that incident. "I mean, how many other girls do you meet and suddenly get attacked by a wolf afterwards? Did that wolf hurt you? The whole thing is still such a blur to me, even all these years later. I don't know why everyone blamed you back then."
I began to feel a little calmer when he said that. His words suggested that he didn't know anything about it. Either that, or he was just being polite or teasing me. "I haven't thought about that day in years. No, the wolf didn't hurt me. I didn't even see it." I hated having to lie like that, but I couldn't risk the truth getting out.
"Really? Well, still cool that you weren't hurt. Never imagined we'd meet again here. Glad to see you." He took a moment to take a breath, seeming to have something on his mind. "Hey Yuki. You free this weekend? I kinda want to spend some time with you. You know, catch up on all these years. It's been so long since we've seen each other. I'm sure you have a lot of stories to tell." I hesitated to answer. I did have the day free, and in a way, I wanted to dig a bit deeper. I wanted to see if I could find out for sure whether or not he was telling the truth, but I wasn't sure how to do that without revealing my true form to him. I shook my head as I shook those thoughts away.
"Yeah, all right. I don't have anything going on tomorrow. Mostly just recovery from everything that's been going on."
"Cool! So, you wanna get lunch tomorrow? Or maybe just go for a walk and talk a bit?"
"A nice meal sounds good, but I don't have a whole lot of money to spare. I need to get some groceries, too."
"Hey, I could help you, if you don't mind some company," he said with that same goofy grin.
"Really? Just shopping for groceries? I'd have thought you'd find that boring."
"Well, it's a good chance to talk, and if you'll let me come back to your place, I can cook you a meal. Yes, I actually can cook something besides instant ramen or oatmeal," he added with a chuckle. "But you'll just have to see that for yourself, won't you?"
I felt my fears starting to alleviate a bit. He was as kind and good-natured as ever. Maybe when we got to my house, it would be a good chance to try to get some more information out of him. "All right. You've got a deal. Let's meet up at the grocery store tomorrow around 9am. That's when they're stocking the fresh produce." I took out a piece of notebook paper, tearing a corner to write the name of the store for him.
"Don't you worry, I won't be late. I'm always on time. I'll see you there, Yuki." He waved as he headed off to see his classrooms, and I left to make my way home.

Shino caught up to me on the way out from orientation. "So, was that really Souhei? Like the Souhei from our grade school?"
I gave her a nod, sighing as I looked ahead, making sure I didn't bump into anyone on the red and tan brick road. The cyclists sped around us, as other people went about their own thing. The hustle and bustle of the city made it somewhat hard to have a conversation. "Yeah, it was him. He wants to catch up after all these years, so we're going to go grocery shopping together tomorrow."
"Oooh, going on a date, are you? Never thought you were into him, Yuki."
"Hey, it's not a date. We're just getting some groceries." I decided not to tell her about him coming over to make a meal. "Anyway, I gotta hurry or I'm going to miss the bus home."
"All right. See you Monday," Shino said, giving me a wave as she saw me off to the bus stop.