Chapter Text
That night you dreamt that you were a child again. Your knees had been scraped and stung as you crouched on the pavement under the setting sun. Your face was streaked with tears of anxiety and buried in your arms.
You had been separated from your mother in an unknown city. You had caught sight of a something moving in the bushes in the park as she had stopped to talk to someone and before you knew it you were completely lost in the suburbs of the place.
To your shorter and younger self the place seemed huge and you couldn't remember for the life of you in which direction the park was.
Just as you began to give up all hope of finding your mother, you heard footsteps approaching and someone touched your arm in an attempt to drag it away from in front of your eyes. Reluctantly you raised your stinging eyes from your arms and looked up at the stranger.
It had been a boy your age with startling blue eyes and ruffled blonde hair, crouching down in front of you with his elbows on his knees. He didn't look Japanese. Maybe Japanese and something else? Either way his face captivated you instantly. He was smiling at you angelically as though he didn't have a care in the world.
In your dream you tried to look away but you were fixated on those intelligent blue eyes and felt yourself becoming unable to tear your gaze away. At the time you had already been moving from place to place more than you cared to remember and didn’t really have any friends your own age. How should you even speak to him?
"What happened to you?" He asked shamelessly after a moment, leaning his chin on his arms.
You sniffled miserably. "I can't find my mama..." you whimpered, looking at your feet.
"Ehh?" the blond boy answered curiously. He sounded as though you had peaked his interest. "When did you last see her?"
You thought for a moment. "The park," you then said after a moment, wiping your eyes with a sleeve. "Next to that big tree... There was a squirrel and...!" You trailed off, not sure how to continue.
"I can take you there," the boy answered cheerfully at this as he got back to his feet, and held out a hand to help you up. “Here, so we don’t get separated!"
For a moment you looked at him through swimming eyes before hesitantly taking his hand. Surprisingly strong for a boy of such a young age, he pulled you to your feet.
You wobbled for a moment before regaining your balance. You didn't let go of his hand however, instead choosing to hold on tightly as though he were your last hope, which in a sense perhaps he was.
"This way," he grinned at you, tugging you along behind him.
"Who are you?" You asked after a moment, curiosity finally taking over.
He looked over his shoulder, looking slightly surprised by the question for some reason.
"You can just call me Mika," he answered finally. "And you are?"
"Oh... (F/n)..." you mumbled, looking at your feet as you continued to walk, hand in hand.
That day the boy called Mika had led you down various streets, around several corners and through narrow paths. It hadn't been long until the chirping of birds on the park had once again filled your ears and the grey streets had given way to the small grassy area which made up the park.
As you approached you could already hear your mother frantically calling for you. You spotted her moments afterwards, standing in the centre of the field and looking around desperately.
"Mama, over here!" you cried back, letting go of the boys hand to cup your mouth and her head instantly turned towards where you were standing between two bushes. A look of complete relief passed over her face and she began running towards you at full speed.
As she did you turned to look at the boy who had helped you to thank him, but by the time you looked around he had already gone, leaving you alone again as your mother ran up.
And in the next moment you felt a strange sensation wash over you and everything around you went dark.
It took several moments for you to realise that your eyes were closed in your dream as well, but when you opened them the scene had changed from the evening park to an endless rippling mirror which stretched out on all sides, reflecting the sky.
The only thing which stood out in your line of vision was a grey form sitting magnificently in front of you, a familiar serrated sword stuck into the odd surface in front of him, sending out a disturbance in the reflective surface.
"Fenrir," you greeted coolly, trying to keep your composure. "It's been some time. That dream... Did you show me that?"
"I merely resurfaced an old memory you had forgotten," the large wolf replied and gave a small movement of his shoulders that might just have been a shrug.
"That was Mika-kun, wasn't it?" you murmured. "So all this time..."
You could sense amusement emanating from Fenrir. You were certain this couldn't be a good sign, but asked nonetheless.
"Why did you show me that memory?" you growled, narrowing your eyes and glaring at your demon.
This time there was a deep rumbling laugh which sent ripples through the surface beneath your feet. You tensed up, not taking your eyes off him.
"Recently I sensed a new emotion on you," Fenrir explained after a few moments in which he seemed to compose himself again. "It's affecting all of your other emotions as well. Do you know what it is? Attraction? Affection? Even the beginning of love...? It's weakening you and yet making you stronger at the same time. You are a fascinating human."
"Love? What are you talking about?" you asked frustratedly.
The corners of Fenrir's mouth curled up in what could almost be described as a smirk. "I see you do not yet understand your own emotions, human," he answered. "Think about what I have shown you and you will understand in time."
To your dismay the dream began to fade in front of you at this, giving way to darkness once more. You tried desperately to grasp onto the dream again, but it was too late.
The next thing you knew, you were lying on your side in a sleeping bag and someone was shaking your shoulder insistently. Snapping your eyes open, you sat up with a jolt and came face to face with Shinoa.
"H-huh...?" you mumbled, rubbing the sleep from your eyes after a moment when you had adjusted to the light streaming in through the front of the tent. "Shinoa? What time is it?" you yawned.
Shinoa looked a great deal better and was dressed in a new change of clothes from when you had last seen her resting in the tent the day before. She had an urgent look on her face and nodded towards the entrance of the tent.
"We have visitors," she told you tensely. You blinked. Visitors? But weren't you out in the middle of nowhere? Was there even out here anymore? You sat up straight as these words caught up to you.
"Who is it?" you asked, suddenly wide awake. Who could be visiting at this point? Could it be vampires again?
Shinoa only shook her head, looking as concerned as you did. You took a moment to think through the situation. Could it be vampires? Shinoa had told you of her encounter with Lacus and Rene. Was it them? They seemed like the type to make more of a dramatic entrance though. Then could it be other humans? That seemed more likely. Could it be Shinya?
Then you realised who was on watch that night and leapt to your feet worriedly, bumping your head on the roof of the tent. Mika...! Surely he wouldn't attack them before getting a proper look, would he?
"Mika!" You exclaimed out loud as these thoughts rushed through your head. "Is he-"
"Are you worried?" Shinoa answered with a grin. You looked at her with slight exasperation and she chuckled lightly. "Don't worry. Nothing happened."
"Then-"
"Just come and see," Shinoa continued before you could form a sentence. She stood up and held out a hand to you.
Shaking your hair out of your eyes, you took it and she pulled you up. She nodded and the two of you exited the tent together. Kimizuki, Makoto and Mitsuba had already stood at the entrance to the site with Mika standing a distance away, his hand resting on his sword as though ready to attack. Yoichi seemed to have gone to wake Yu as the two of them were emerging from the tent Mika was sharing with Yu.
A few metres down the path two figures hesitantly continued to make their way closer, appearing to be holding hands. One of the figures was shorter than the other and as they stepped nervously closer you realised the pair was a woman and a man.
The male had dusty brown hair and though young, had a light stubble on his chin. He looked concerned and as the two approached, and put an arm around the dark-haired woman who pulled her jacket more closely around herself, her other hand on her large belly. You realised in shock that the woman was pregnant. All the way out here? You almost ran forward instinctively to help but Shinoa held your arm as you began to move forward. When you looked at her, she gave you a warning look.
"It could be a trap," she whispered. Your heart sank. She was right. What if there were vampires nearby?
Mika who had been staying several paces away, shifted and moved several feet closer to you. He was watching the two visitors suspiciously and was even sniffing the air as of trying to catch a scent.
"They're alone," he spoke coolly after a moment. Shinoa looked at him in surprise and then turned back to look at the couple, who had come to a halt a few metres away.
Both parties stared at each other for a moment. Then the man spoke up. "I'm glad we finally found you," he said calmly, despite the strain and worry that was evident on his face. "My name is Hideki."
He paused for a moment and you looked back, uncertain as to what to think. The male called Hideki looked at the petite woman beside him, who nodded seriously. He glanced back at your group and continued.
"This is my wife, Yukiko Hiiragi."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Shinoa and you snuck a glance at her to make sure she was alright. She looked serious and had a slight look if disbelief on her face as she looked at the couple.
In the next moment, the man lowered his head and bowed deeply, drawing your attention once again.
"Please," he said. "We need your help."