Saigo and the Alchemist's Quest

**The way of the cat**

In a small fishing village in the province of Tohoku lived an albino monk by the name of Iko. He was young and kind with a pure heart that radiated from his eyes. He did not fit in this village because of his white hair and light skin, so he spent most of his time walking along the beach or on the path that led to the next town.

One day on his way home, Iko saw a group of dogs fighting in front of a storehouse. There was blood everywhere and one dog was laying on the ground, unmoving. It was Saigo, a small stray cat who had lived in the village for years. All he could do was watch as the dog that killed his sister made its way toward him with bloody teeth. But just before it reached him, Iko jumped over to the dog and grabbed him by the neck. The other dogs stopped immediately and backed away, knowing they could never take down this monk. After some time, Iko let go of the dog and walked back home where he found Saigo waiting for him at his door.

The next morning as usual, Iko headed for the beach to collect seashells for his mother who felt bad about making such a pale child go out into the sun everyday. On his way however he heard a loud sound from behind him and someone calling for help. Looking around he found that it was Saigo who was being attacked by two dogs again! This time he looked much worse than last time as most of his fur had been pulled out leaving only tufts here and there. Unable to see any other option Iko would have to protect him like last time, so he turned around and ran toward him shouting “Kai!” (Stop!). The dogs moved back when they saw this unexpected turn of events and they both ran away without even looking back once they were sure they were safe.

Saigo looked up at Iko with exhausted eyes as if to thank him but Iko just stared back before turning away, going on with what he had planned to do earlier that day. As night approached, Iko returned home after collection more shells than usual which made his mother happy and relieved to see her son smiling again like before he left home at age 10 to train with monks in Kyoto. When Saigo came home too it seemed like there was something wrong with him because he didn’t jump on top of Iko’s head like normal when greeting him but rather went straight inside to find something to eat instead; probably still exhausted from today’s events thought Iko as he sighed and went on to meditate as usual before bedtime. This kept happening for two weeks until one day when Iko woke up early in the morning because Saigo wasn’t there beside him like usual anymore but instead sitting on top of his meditation seat staring into empty space lost in thought. Not wanting to disturb him, Iko decided against waking up and started cleaning around their house quietly while humming all sorts of songs he knew by heart; none of them bothered Saigo who kept staring into nothingness with dull eyes while mumbling incoherent sentences every now and then like someone who is talking in their sleep no longer able to understand words properly anymore but keeps saying them anyway just because habit has taken control over their brain. After finishing his chores, Iko went over to Saigo and tried touching his shoulder gently which finally made Saigo snap out of it while taking a deep breath before looking into Iko’s eyes unknowingly pleading without words desperately trying to tell something important while still being lost in thought himself inside somewhere far away from here where only evil things haunt him; probably some place only Saigos know where everyone is evil by default so everyone's evil smile terrifies everyone else just as much as their evil claws do because if you're not strong enough you won't survive there so you learn how to be stronger faster or you perish faster or worse: You become one of those evil ones yourself...

When Iko realized what was going on inside Saigos mind he simply smiled at him confidently which got Saigo confused since usually people are scared when meeting his red eyes gaze directly into theirs but seeing how calm this monk remained despite meeting eyes with such an ominous beast got even Saigos own mind thinking more clearly again which allowed his own inner strength kick itself awake again after getting lost along the way somewhere between falling asleep last night (because we all do get tired when we don't sleep well) and waking up today in front of this young monk who always stands tall no matter what gets thrown at his feet which is why we should all follow this monk's example: Even if we don't understand everything right now it doesn't mean that we can't change ourselves for better or more right... So thank you kind young monk for helping me get my strength back again today! And as thanks for your help today I'll help you find your parents one day if you promise me that you will be there for me tomorrow when someone threatens me again!

Ikio blushed under Saigos stare at first but then smiled confidently back at him before nodding slowly: “I promise little friend!”