Getting to know Haruka better

On the way to Marie's flat, Haruka told me about his story. He used to live near Tokyo. His grandmother managed a shrine there, taking care of and teaching young tanuki wanting to live in the city. His parents meanwhile lived in the city, fully integrated into human society and working as gardeners. He had a brother and a sister, both older than him. He apparently only recently reached maturity, and wished to visit France to celebrate.

A shame it didn't go as expected… I thought.

It was really fascinating to hear about how other non-humans lived, and it wasn't just because Marie was an avid reader of fantasy stories. Before becoming a skinwalker, I always considered mythical creatures to be just that: myths. But skinwalkers, tanuki, and even kitsune were indeed real, and I now wondered if all the myths told throughout history by different cultures were true one way or another. It was terrifying and exciting at the same time. While I didn't want to meet a werewolf or a ghoul if I could avoid it, I wouldn't mind meeting some of the rumored more friendly creatures.

“What about you, Edward? Where are you from? Do you have any family?” Haruka then asked once he was done.

I let out a sigh. “I'm from America, originally. And yes, I have a younger sister, but she's still human and isn't aware of my situation. I had to… flee after meeting a monster hunter, and couldn't get her involved in something so dangerous.” My voice wavered near the end. It still wasn't easy to talk about Claire.

“Oh, I, uhh, I'm sorry to hear.” Haruka awkwardly said. “It wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable.”

I smiled weakly. “Don't apologise, it's fine. I need to… get over it, anyway. I've been enjoying life here to clear my mind. I was originally planning to travel across Europe and the world, but I still haven't even left France.”

“Would you like to visit Japan?” Haruka asked.

“Someday, yeah. I've heard many good things about it, especially since I settled here. French people are crazy about Japan, especially its cuisine and culture.” I answered with a chuckle. “Marie has a lot of manga at her flat.”

“Maybe you, uhh, could come with me when I return, if you'd like?” He then offered a bit more shyly. “My family would be grateful towards you for helping me, they'd treat you well.”

I smiled at him. “Sure, why not. It could be fun. And in the meantime, I could make you visit the region. Marie is a great tour guide, you know?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Alright!”

“And well, Marie always wished she could have a cute pet raccoon~” I then added with a teasing grin. He frowned and crossed his arms petulantly, and it was just so adorable to see him act like this with Soraya's appearance. “Sorry, I can't resist, you're so fun to tease.”

After a minute, he looked at me more curiously. “By the way, I've been wondering, but what did you mean by the ‘skinwalker way of healing’, earlier?”

“Well, our spines can produce multiple types of liquids. There's the ones we use to skin or restore someone, but there's also one able to heal a skin. It can be used to fix tears in deflated skins or close open wounds on humans and skinwalkers. But I have no idea if it works on animals or other creatures, I haven't even tried this ability yet.”

“Ah, I see… I… I am ashamed to admit that I am afraid of needles, so I'm asking you not to use these spines on me, please.” Haruka quietly requested.

I gave him a reassuring smile. “Unless you're in a critical state, I won't, don't worry.”

While I've been greatly enjoying my time as a skinwalker so far, it truly was nice to simply… be myself with someone. I loved acting as Soraya and Marie, but being able to relax with someone who knew the real me was something I didn't realise I needed to that extent.

I was starting to relate to Dahlia. She cursed me because she felt lonely and desperately wanted someone to be herself with, and unlike me who only spent a bit less than half a year alone, she's lived like this for fifteen years, pretending to be probably dozens of people but unable to show the real her to anyone. I couldn't imagine how painful it must have been. I was lucky to have met Haruka.

Finally, we reached Marie's flat and I struggled to find a free spot to park, a usual occurrence in Marseille. I managed to park a few blocks away and led Haruka to the old residential building Marie lived in, in a flat on the third floor. As the building was ancient, there wasn't any elevator. I made sure to stay close to Haruka as we got up the narrow spiral staircase, in case the climbing put a strain on his injury. Thankfully we didn't meet any of Marie's neighbours.

I quickly locked the door behind us and let out a soft sigh of relief. “Alright, we're in the clear.” I went to the fridge hoping to grab something to drink for the two of us but Marie's memories told me it was almost empty. “I'm going to buy some groceries, I'll be back soon. You can rest on the couch for the time being.” I said to Haruka while gesturing at the main room, which served as both a living room and a bedroom.

Haruka bowed slightly. “Thank you.”

I let him make himself comfortable and went down the stairs I climbed just a minute ago, walking to the nearby supermarket. I decided to get some vegetables and noodles to cook for tonight since Haruka was here. I also grabbed a bottle of apple juice and a pack of beer.

“I'm back.” I announced after closing the door behind me.

I didn't get any answer so I quietly walked to the main room. I noticed Haruka laying on the couch, his eyes closed. He was snoring softly, indicating that he fell asleep.

I smiled and sat on a chair next to the couch, texting on my phone and letting him rest.

He woke up after about an hour, groggily opening his eyes. “Hmm? E-Edward?”

“Marie, currently. Remember? I'd prefer if you avoid using my real name.” And it wasn't just due to the need to stay in character. Hearing my former name wasn't something I particularly liked anymore. “I told you about my old self, but that me no longer exists…”

“Oh, I apologise.” Haruka said, raising up.

I petted his head, giggling. “It's okay. Just call me by the name of my current skin.”

It seemed like my action confused him. “W-why did you do that?”

I felt like lightening up the mood again, so I gave him an innocent yet teasing smile. “Because I like petting cute things?”

His cheeks reddened slightly. “I-I'm not cute!”

I crossed my legs and rested my head against my fist, smirking. “Well, I think you are very cute~”

Marie was a lot more direct and extroverted than Soraya. She loved to tease her friends and partners, and I didn't mind letting her personality lead me. It was way too fun not to indulge.

“What's wrong? Not used to being complimented like this?”

“Are you… courting me?” He asked, blushing and confused.

It made me laugh to hear such an outdated term. “Heh, courting is a bit old school. Flirting is more accurate.”

“You're interested in me?” He asked as if he didn't believe what I said.

“I mean, why wouldn't I be? You seem like a really nice and interesting… uhh, person?” I said, wondering what to call Haruka.

“I-I see…” He gave me a soft smile. “Thank you. You are very nice too.”

Haruka seemed more **** here, he wasn't like when we met earlier, haughty and proud. It made me wonder if he had some sort of complex about himself, considering how stunned he was to learn I really found him interesting.

I got up and gestured to the kitchen. “I'm gonna cook dinner now, alright? Make yourself at home in the meantime. There's a shelf full of manga there, but they're in French, so I don't know if you'll understand them. Otherwise, you can watch stuff on my laptop, or just nap more.”

“Okay, thank you again, Marie.” Haruka replied with gratitude in his voice.

I went to the kitchen and started to cut the vegetables. I also filled a pot of water to boil for the noodles. It took about forty five minutes before everything was ready for us to eat. I was quite proud of the dish, it smelled delicious and I hoped Haruka would like eating something Asian. I took the two plates and brought them to the main room, sitting at the table.

“Here we go, bon appétit.” I said, giving him the cutlery. “I don't have any chopsticks, I apologise.”

“It's alright. It looks really appetising.” He commented. He twirled some noodles around his fork and took a bite, smiling. “It's good. Soft, but good.”

“Oh, would you have preferred something more spicy?”

“I enjoy spicy food, yeah. My grandmother makes a wonderful curry. You need to try it when you visit.” Haruka announced in a more prideful tone. He seemed to have a lot of respect for his grandmother.

“I'm looking forward to it, then~” I replied with a warm smile. And it was true, hanging out with Haruka was making me excited to visit Japan and his family in the future.