Bear? Rabbit? Same thing.

Kuroki often wasn’t left alone for long. Ever since he and his siblings had left the safety of the palace there had always been an adult lurking nearby, be it Obaachan or one of the akitas, someone was always watching. He didn’t mind at first since he liked the company, liked to show off and prance about like any young and enthusiastic boy, but  there was so much to see and do. And adults, for some reason or another, always seemed to want to pull the brakes on his fun when he was only just getting started. Kuroki wasn’t allowed to toss Ike into the sea. Kuroki wasn’t allowed to dig a hole to the center of the earth. Kuroki wasn’t allowed to steal his mother’s crown and rip it to shreds. No no no!

But the little Prince sensed a shining opportunity and clung onto it for dear life. He wasn’t out to misbehave or make a nuisance of himself, he was a good boy-mostly- he just wanted to test the newly set boundaries. To figure out what he was capable of, without having his elders fuss and worry over him like he’d break. And so the Ashen Prince set off, toddling along and leaving a clumsy trench on the snow in his wake. If an adult were to track him down they wouldn’t have a hard time at all, not that Kuroki knew as much.

The bone white trees loomed tall above him, bare branches reaching at the sky like the grasping fingers of a yūrei, a ghost who had not yet found peace. Kuroki really liked the stories his Father told him, ancient tales carried on the wind and tongue from a land he dreamed of exploring one day. But for now he was happy to make do with the Shrine and play pretend, to close his eyes and imagine he was already there, hunting a black bear in the depths of an ancient snow coated forest to bring back it’s pelt as a prize.

He padded along carefully, slowly raising his paws and testing the crunch before moving the next. The going was slow and he breathed in deep, his nostrils flaring as he caught a brief hint of his intended target.It was close, it had to be, a meandering track led him further into the trees and he followed it closely. His aniticatpion mounted with each passing second and soon enough he found it! The bear that stood ahead with it’s back turned to him had white poofy tail, remarkably long ears and instead of having a black coat as the name implied it was tawny and brown. Ah yes, the very rare and special brown-black bear! It made perfect sense.

He slunk low, trying-and failing terribly- to blend in with the white scenery. It would be difficult to bring down such a ferocious beast alone but he was sure his Father could not only do it, but make it look easy too. He steeled himself, knowing that if he wanted to follow in his footsteps then he’d need to do the same, that this was a test ordained by the Kami. He had to bite back his tongue to stop himself from hooting aloud, but it was all just so exciting! He could barely stand it!

Holding his breath he inched forward and pressed his side against a tree. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do next, everything worked seamlessly in his mind but now that he was so close he felt unsure. Like he’d mess up and do it all wrong. He peeked around the corner and the bear remained mostly where it was, busy and distracted but vigilant as it’s long ears twitched this way and that. Now was the time to strike, he had no choice!
With a demonic battlecry-or so he liked to pretend- he charged out from behind the tree and collided with the beast just as it let out an alarmed squeak. The pair tumbled to the snow and Kuroki struggled to grapple with it as it kicked and wriggled, trying with all it’s might to slip away. He received a kick or two to his under chin that HURT but he held on and returned the sentiment with a headbutt that momentarily stunned it into submission. Weidling his nubby sabers he made a grab for it’s throat and bit down as hard as he could. So hard his jaw ached in complaint as he thrashed his head this way and that, blood splattered on the snow and the creature became limp. Still.

He could hardly believe he’d done it, slayed the beast! It was all down to a stroke of good luck on his behalf but in his mind it was all down to skill, a talented bloodline on both sides and the favour of the kami and Gods. Picking up his well earned prize he struggled back home, eager to show off the fruit of his efforts.