Mother told me I need this journal. Father too.

They said this will improve my handwriting in both their … Languages? Some words they use are still hard to know.

They like to speak in their own which often is confusing… Why can’t they pick one? I know I’m both of them… I can see it on my scales. But… it’s hard.

Father said I’ll be watching him hunt today. There’s a sickly tiger that has to be put down or she might scare the other healthier ones. He wants me to watch how it’s done.

It was hot today, but there she was, about to attack one of the other kin that wander in the grounds. Father was quick, he took her down so easily with his bow and arrow. A mark on her head, and two strong shots to her heart and lungs.

I was told to skin her fur since I have been getting used to handling a hunting knife. As I did that he took the arrows out of her body.

I felt bad for her… She didn’t have to die like this. But if she kept living– other kin of hers would suffer. Father looked sad too as he shot those arrows.

“What’s done is done” he said. That is until we heard a small mew, there was a cub. Just a few weeks old… The little beast was blind in one eye. I was afraid we would have to kill him too because he only had one good eye. Father didn’t though.

He took the cub home with us. Mother was happy to see us with a new family member.

I named him Katame because he had one eye. I like calling him Kata as a nickname. He’s a fun cub to play with! I hope Kata will grow big and strong and take good care of his kin once he’s ready. The other people from my father’s clan are happy to care for this cub once he gets bigger.

The next few pages were recorded weekly… The growth and changes on the tiger he once kept. As Koke flipped through the pages did she find one with a worn leather patch of tiger skin– attached to the page. The year it was… When Korekaze was 10 summers old—when he went hunting for the first time.

I had to kill him… My closest friend…

He showed those same symptoms like his mother when she grew ill…

It was my rite of passage too—Slay a striped beast and earn your first scar.  I earned two—On my left hip and on my right shoulder.  I could not take him down so easily… I was hesitant. He ran off from our village and started to attack his kin blindly.

With blade in my hand did I slay him after a long struggle. I could not hold back my tears as he laid there motionless.  Please wake up was all I said—No response.

I became a man that day… But at the cost of his life…

The clan welcomed me warmly while my parents held me close knowing I was in tears… It’s never right killing a beast… Let alone one you raised for so long.

Kata… Forgive me. I took what remained of you to be a part of my journal.