The days in the forest came to an abrupt end. Bazu and Rin had at some point grown to the same shoulder height as Nanaki, and both had set up their own small den, so they started going off on their own from time to time. There was nothing in particular that triggered it, but eventually, they got into the habit of sleeping apart from one another, with Nanaki between them.

There goes the end of an era.

That made him a little sad, but mostly, he felt pride at how admirably they had both grown up.

One morning, Nanaki awoke to find that the brothers were no where to be seen. At first, he figure they now not only slept apart from him, but also hunted for food on their own. Suddenly he heard a gunshot, immediately followed by the roar of a Nibel bear.

“That was Bazu.”

Nanaki, who could now find his way through the forest blindfolded, immediately ran in the direction of Bazu’s roar. When he finally arrived there, he thought he was experiencing déjà-vu.

That day, the boy had fallen to the ground, looking scared as a Nibel bear circled him. It was Bazu. He seemed to be keeping an eye on the thickets nearby, probably waiting for Rin. Bazu stood up on his hind legs, stretched out his paws into the air and roared loudly. Then Rin’s roar could be heard in reply from the undergrowth.

The boy had fear in his eyes as he searched the area for an escape route. When he spotted, there was a spark of hope in his eyes.

“Red! It’s me! You still remember me, right? You saved me here in the forest!”

Back then, Nanaki couldn’t just allow the boy to be killed. But today things were different and he knew the words he had to say to him.

“You are here in the forest, so you must abide by the rules of the forest.”

When the boy heard Nanaki’s words, a smile crossed his face. The knowledge that Nanaki could really speak filled him with joy.

Quite an intrepid child, thought Nanaki.

“Alright, Red!”

The boy jumped to his feet and ran towards his gun, which Bazu had likely swiped away with his paw.

“I didn’t say that to help you”, thought Nanaki.

Nanaki was still surprised by the boy’s reaction as he reached for the gun. He feared that Bazu could be shot, and wanted to dive out of the undergrowth, when suddenly Rin appeared. With a single swipe, he knocked the boy off his feet. He crashed to the ground, motionless. Nanaki wanted to intervene, but he told himself that the boy had to fight here in the forest under the rules of the forest. If he lost, it was just bad luck. Bazu and Rin circled around the boy. After a while they stood up on their hind legs, and roared into the sky.

“That’s enough!”

Nanakì jumped out of the undergrowth, and stood in front of the boy, shielding his body from the two bears.

Their powerful claws swung down towards the boy, and slashed into Nanaki’s back, tearing through his flesh.

“Geee!” “Geee!” When the two bears realized the situation changed, they immediately withdrew their claws and let out a desperate roar. It reminded Nanaki of the day they first met, when they had found their dead mother.

“Don’t worry about it. Now go!”

The two Nibel bears pulled away and disappeared quickly into the forest.

“Ugh—”

Nanakí heard the quiet groaning of the boy behind him.

“Boy, where are you!? I told you not to run off on your own, damn it!”

“That must be that hunter’s voice”, thought Nanaki.

Nanaki quickly hid in the undergrowth.

“Hey, Gordy! What happened!”

As expected, it was the boy’s father who came running. But he was followed by another person. Nanaki was shocked at the sight.

“That was a Nibel bear, right?”

It was a young woman dressed in a Turks uniform—Elena took out a small vial, probably a healing potion, from the side pocket of her jacket and began to treat the injured boy.

“What does this mean?”, thought Nanaki.

“Does this mean the Shinra Company is still active?”

Nanaki regretted not paying more attention to the affairs of humans. He watched as the hunter carried the boy out of the forest on his back, while Elena took out her cell phone and called someone.

“I found one. I’ll try my luck again tomorrow.”

When Nanaki returned to the stone house in the forest clearing, he found Bazu and Rin nervously pacing. No sooner had they perceived Nanaki, they hid themselves in the undergrowth.

“I’m not mad at you!”

Nanaki and slumped to the ground. Although he wasn’t really angry, his wounds still hurt. He needed a little rest and recuperation. Tomorrow, the woman from Shinra would return to the forest. It seemed they had it in for Nibel bears. So tomorrow would be a busy day. Nanaki could sense Bazu and Rin approaching him, but he closed his eyes. Soon, he could feel the brothers licking the wounds on the back.

“Thank you, Bazu, Rin.”

* * *

Blessed with the fast recovery abilities of a beast, Nanaki slowly stood up. He looked around, but couldn’t see any sign of the two bears anywhere. Normally they slept within sight. Nanaki became suspicious and searched the nearby undergrowth, looking for them, with no luck. Nibel bears weren’t usually nocturnal. Nanaki started to panic and began his search in the forest.

After a while, Nanaki believed he heard gun shots in the distance, from outside the forest. He thought he heard gunfire somewhere far away. It was outside of the forest. He began to tremble all over. Gilligan, who hadn’t shown up for some time appeared again. He cowered on the ground as he trembled with fear. By now, he had forgotten how best to resist against Gilligan’s attacks.

“What am I supposed to do again? Ah yes. Bazu and Rin. They can get rid of this fear. But were are they.”

Nanaki clenching his teeth and headed for the edge of the forest.

With his head lowered, he hurried on, trying to fight against the trembling. As the scent in the air changed, he knew he had left the forest. Nanaki lifted his head. Before him lay a gently sloping grassy plain. The hunters had trampled a well beaten track through the grass. As Nanaki followed the path with the eyes, he saw several lights in the distance. It was a small village. The largest of the lights flickered in the darkness.

Maybe a campfire? thought Nanaki. Was it being used for cooking?

As Nanaki took in everything in sight, he focused, trying to rid himself of Gilligan, but with no effect. Nanaki walked on with determination towards the lights.

“It is”, he thought.

Actually, Nanaki had already guessed it. The campfire illuminated the figures of Bazu and Rin. The two had been tied to huge posts in a familiar pose: with their front paws stretched upwards. Their tails had been cut off. Suddenly, Nanaki felt something take over him. Gilligan was no longer there. Though, he was still scared to look closely at the two bears, so instead looked over his surroundings. There were three small cabins, all lit up. Pricked his ears up, he could hear men and women laughing. Perhaps they were celebrating the successful hunt? In any case, no one seemed to be keeping watch. Nanaki still didn’t have the heart to look directly at the brothers.

“Did Bazu and Rin come here to take revenge? Such emotion doesn’t belong to beasts. Humans and Nibel bear might well be natural enemies, but in general, that was nothing personal. Personal feelings play no role between individuals of the two species. If anything, humans are the only species capable of hostility and hatred toward another.”

Perhaps it was the air outside of the forest, but Nanaki suddenly felt a desire for revenge in his heart. This wasn’t his animalistic side, but his human side.

“Geee”

Suddenly, Nanaki heard a faint roar from the direction of the bears. He was frightened. It sounded like cries of pain. Even though they were big, they were still very young. Dark thoughts spread through Nanaki’s consciousness. It wasn’t Gilligan, but these thoughts clouded his mind more and more. Slowly, he was being taking over by the desire for revenge, and it seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

Then he heard the cries of a baby from one of the huts.

So, these people have a small child… It must be very cute. This must be a sign – a sign that I have to control himself. All babies are free from sin.

Nanaki’s heart was being torn between human and beast.

Pching!

A bullet hit the ground just a few inches next to Nanaki. He hadn’t even heard the shot. Nanaki was torn from his trance. He realized that he was so far gone that he couldn’t even recognise the sound of gunfire. He looked over at Bazu and Rin again. The roar he heard must have just been in his imagination. The two were already long dead. This time, he looked into their eyes. Behind their half-closed eyelids, he could see the flames of the campfire reflected in their red eyes. Nanaki felt like the flames were jumping on him, burning in his eyes. Soon the whole area glowed in a glistening red, and he could see nothing else.

Another gunshot rang through the air. Nanaki heard it this time. He followed the sound and sprinted to one of the cabins. With a single bound, he jumped through the window. The glass shattered with a loud crash. Several armed men stood before him.

I was spurred on by my human ties, but now I stand here before you as a wild animal.

Human faces surrounded Nanaki, but he could no longer distinguish them.

Another shot rang out, and his cheek was flooded with agonizing pain. That was the signal to attack. Nanaki leapt at the man standing closest to him.

He could barely remember what happened after that. He merely had a vague recollections of the pain as the bullet pierced his body, as well as to the cries of a boy.

“I wanted to be your friend!”

When Nanaki opened his eyes, he was lying on a wooden bed, which was covered with blood. He let his gaze wander. In one corner of the room sat a familiar figure dressed in red. The man looked over at him.

“Can you get up?”

Vincent had no concern in his voice.

“Vincent?… Vincent! What are you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same thing.”

Vincent answered with a disinterested tone in his voice.

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