Meeting the Wolf Who was No Longer Trapped Within

Yoshi's mouth dropped in despair as she watched her worlfy friend slump to his knees in the sand.  She had no idea where all this sadness - all this depression came from.  Something had been eating away at Salzem for a long, long time.  And it was all coming out now, and right in front of the little kunoichi. 

What can I do to help him?  I have to help him, I can't stand looking at him like this!  Oh, how about this, Yoshi thought as she fiddled with her sash that she wore around her waist.

Yoshi untied her sash which was used to carry one of her weapons pouches as well as her water canteen.  Luckily it was not keeping up her capri pants that she wore.  Her pants had a separate drawstring on the inside.  Her items fell into the sand as she gently used it to wipe away Salzem's tears should the giant werewolf let her.  

"Let it out.  Let it all out.  I'm here for you," Yoshi said in a soft voice.  "You're life is not pointless, Salzem.  You're my friend, Salzem.  I'd be a lot lonelier if you weren't around.  I enjoy our little visits, Sal.  And I hope to have many more."

Yoshi stood to Salzem's side and wrapped her tiny arm around his massive shoulders and rested her head next to his wolfy ear.  She soon felt a single tear run down her cheek.

Salzem felt a cloth rubbing under his eyes where his tears formed and felt an arm wrapping around his massive, wolfish shoulders. He opened his watery sanguine eyes, seeing Yoshi brushing his tears away with some sort of cloth through blurred vision. She whispered thing in his ear, that she was here for him, that his life wasn't pointless. She said that he was her friend and that she'd be lonely without him. She said the she wanted to have many more visits with him and, perhaps the thing that caught his attention the most, was that she, too, was letting the tears flow, or at least, the one. It really moved Salzem that she could care for him like this, act as if she were his equal and comfort him so despite her being so young and despite him being... well... what he was. Despite her attempts to comfort him though, he words only seemed to bring him small amounts of relief. She just didn't know... She didn't know how deeply these wounds ran. These tears, they were but representations of the minor scratches surrounding the real wounds. Depression, self loathing, all of these were now part of Salzem's life. Coming to the realization you've failed everything you've worked so hard for, to know that your murdered friend will never find peace and by extension, yourself, to realize that giving up your family, your village, your humanity, it just wasn't worth it, that there is crippling. Salzem's gaze turned soft, however as Yoshi held him. She was trying so hard to be a friend to this 7-foot monster... that was devotion... With his breathing irregular from his crying, Salzem attempted to speak, but ultimately failed and ended up breaking into another round of sobs, those slowly ebbing out into a shaky silence. He spoke again.

"You're kind, Yoshi." Salzem said, attempting a smile. He failed. Miserably. He looked as forced as if he had a kunai to his throat and was told to smile. "But... You just don't know how it feels....... to know that everything you've done... everything you've sacrificed... its all coming to a head and then.... *poof* its gone..." Salzem stared down at his twisted form. "I lost my family... I lost my village... I lost my best friend.... And now, I've lost my humanity... What reason do I have to keep going....?"

Yoshi remembered something that her grandmother once told her a couple years ago - when she was on her death bed.  She said: "Death is the only certain thing in life, my child.  We must make use if every moment we have.  Do not remember me like this.  Remember the good times we shared and I shall live on through your heart.  Yoshi's grandma died in her sleep the following night.  But something told her to repeat her grandmother's words, regardless if she fully understood them herself. 

Yoshi sniffed before clearing her own voice, "My grandma once told me that death was the only certain thing in life - that all things much go back into the ground one day, to pave the way for a new generation.  If your family and best friend are ... dead, then remember the good times you shared with them.  They live on through those memories." Yoshi paused for a moment, "But if ... if they're not dead, if its just that you don't know their location, I want to come with you to help you find them!  And ... your village, you could call Sunagakure your home, now.  I'm sure our Lord Kazekage-sama would invite you in with open arms.  I have heard he is a kind man."

Yoshi let go of the big wolf and took a couple steps back.  She then placed her hands together and preformed the hand seals necessary to use the Transformation Jutsu.  In a puff of smoke Yoshi had transformed herself into a smaller version of Salzem.

"Your humanity ... even though you look like this.  As I walked passed you I could still see you in your eyes.  I looked into your eyes and the Salzem I know stared back at me." Yoshi pointed her wolf like eyes with her paws.  After a moment she turned back into herself, "And even though you say you can no longer change back, I still know that you are you.  No stupid dog bite can change that.  You are Salzem-kun, my friend."

Yoshi was at her wits end, and could not think of anything more to say.  Her own tears and congested sinuses clouded her thoughts.  Yoshi stumbled back to the kneeling werewolf and hugged him again.

Salzem listened to Yoshi silently, his sanguine eyes locked on the ground. She tried to sound hopeful, inspiring, and maybe, if Salzem were just sad or angry, maybe these good vibes would've rubbed off on him. His heart seemed to shrivel up when she mentioned his family. He hadn't told her that part of his story and now, now that she was trying to make him feel better using them as a medium, that just hurt. He'd disowned his mother and his father (to his knowledge) was dead. He even read his will and the remains of his house as proof. He still felt stupid that he'd left his own mom after reuniting with her recently. She wouldn't even recognize him now, he doesn't think and that didn't matter. Salzem had screwed up. What else was goddamned new? It seemed every word was a barb in his back or heart. Her offer for Sunagakure to become his village, her claim that he was a kind man, the attempt to make him feel more human with her comment about his eyes, it all stabbed him. It all hurt. She just didn't know and Salzem really couldn't tell her. He couldn't describe what this feeling was he had within him, this abyss in his soul wouldn't simply be filled with assurances and kind words. As Yoshi hugged him again, the tears stopped flowing from his eyes, his breathing became regular, and the abyss expanded. His eyes seemed faded, slightly unfocussed. He wrapped his arms gently around the girl, hugging her softly. He held her for but a moment before pulling away, the empty feeling within him replaced by a shivering ball of darkness. It pulsed heavily in his chest, almost like a second heart. It seemed to suck the energy out of him, the effort to cry, the energy to feel the depression. He smiled at Yoshi, much easier this time. It was easy to mimic the expression of one who was truly greatfull for the effort the girl was putting into this. Salzem just didn't seem to have the energy to care. Not anymore. She was such a sweet girl, Yoshi. She was doing all she could to elevate Salzem's mood. 

"I don't deserve you as a friend." Salzem said smiling, his cheeks still wet from the tears. "I'm glad to have met you..."

Unaware of what truly was going on with Salzem's darker side, Yoshi relaxed as her spirits seemed to be back on the rise.  

Perhaps my words did reach though to him, as the young kunoichi smiled at her wolf-like friend.

"I'm glad to have met you, too," Yoshi agreed, "But you're not getting away from me that easy!  And regardless of what you think you deserve or not, you're stuck with me, so you better get use to the idea!  Say, why don't we go get some ice cream?  I know a shop that sells all sorts of yummy flavors."

After gathering her puppet and her things, Yoshi lightly tugged on Salzem's giant paw.

(Exit)

Salzem simply kept the smile on his face, although the stain was starting to hurt his cheeks. He said nothing as Yoshi tugged on his massive paw, saying that she knew an icecream shop down the way that sold, quote, "many yummy flavors." Depression was a funny thing, where you just felt like agreeing because it would be too much of a hassle to deny. He followed Yoshi to the stand and spent that moment with her silently, absently, everything was elsewhere, and there at the same time. It was as if everything existed only half-way, if that made sense, an echo of what is was to other people. Of course, in reality, the wasn't the case. Salzem was simply between thought and reality, in that black, sludge line that separated between emotion and logic.  A place he wasn't supposed to be.

(Exit)