Chapter Text
The afternoon sun beat down on the empty stretch of highway, the humid heat settling like a quilt. It was just flat land and clear skies for as far as Derek could see. There was something about being the only car on the road that made him feel uncomfortable, like he shouldn’t be there. In the distance, he saw a figure on the side of the road. At first he dismissed it as a mirage, it was just the heat that was causing him to see things, but as he got closer he could see that it was a girl. Her long, black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she had a button-down tied around her waist. She was carrying a backpack that looked like it was bursting at the seams. He slowed down and pulled up beside her. “Do you need help?” he called through the open passenger-side window. “Did your car break down? Do you need a ride somewhere?”
“Where are you headed?” the girl asked as she approached the car, leaning over so she could get a better view of Derek.
“I’m going to California,” Derek answered, studying the girl’s face – she had to be in her late teens or early twenties. He did his best to keep his eyes there, but the take top she was wearing was low and with the way she was leaning over…
“Me too,” she replied, snapping him back to attention. “Want a travel buddy? I can pay you for gas,” she offered. Derek agreed and unlocked the car door, watching her closely as she sat down and threw her backpack into the back seat. “I’m Kira,” she told him as she put on her seatbelt.
“Derek,” he responded curtly. He didn’t know what he was doing. He had never picked up a hitch hiker before and he’d never intended to. Usually he pretended that he didn’t see them when he drove past, so why had he stopped this time? Maybe it was because it was a girl or maybe it was because of the blistering heat, but either way, it was a new experience for him. “So…” he started.
“You want to know why I’m hitch hiking to California, don’t you?” Kira guessed.
“Yeah… I mean, you’re young and pretty,” he could feel himself blushing at the last word but continued, “couldn’t it be dangerous? What if I was some kind of murderer?”
“Well, Derek, are you a murderer?” Kira teased. There was something about the way she said his name made him feel like he knew her – like they’d met before. “And besides, the situation I was in was just as dangerous.” Derek gave her a surprised, questioning look and she went on, “My parents got involved with some pretty sketchy people a few years ago. When my dad skipped town, they came after me and my mom and threatened to kill us. My mom told me to run and never look back, so I am. I need to get as far away as possible. I’m just hoping they don’t come looking for me.”
Derek sat in stunned silence, trying to figure out what to say. She didn’t seem like the kind of person who would be in such a terrifying situation. “Wow… uh, that’s intense,” he finally managed. “Are you going to a specific town?”
“Yeah, I think it’s called Bacon Hills, just wait,” she dug around in her pocket for a while before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. “Oh, Beacon Hills, not Bacon Hills,” Kira laughed.
Derek’s brows furrowed – there was no way it was a coincidence. “That’s where I live,” he said slowly. “Are you looking for someone in particular?”
“Yeah, someone with the last name Hale. Erik Hale? Drake Hale? I should really start writing things down,” she sighed.
There were no other Hales in Beacon Hills. Maybe it wasn’t just coincidence that he’d stopped for this particular hitch hiker. Maybe there was another force at work. “Kira, I think… I think you might be looking for me. Derek Hale,” he replied, trying desperately to keep his eyes on the road and off of the mysterious girl in his car.
A moment of tense silence passed between them before it was broken by Kira laughing. “Well, you’re definitely not what I was expecting,” she told him jovially.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Derek asked. “And why are you looking for me?” All he wanted to do was pull over on the side of the road and force her to tell him everything.
“I guess I was expecting you to be a little bit more… intimidating. You know, since you’re an avi-wolf and all,” Kira answered. She paused for a moment, studying his face. “You seriously don’t know why I’m looking for you?”
“I’m a what?” Derek asked, his eyes flicking back and forth from her to the road.
“Wow,” Kira murmured. “If your mom never told you what you are it’s no wonder you don’t know why I’m looking for you,” she said. “Maybe we should continue this conversation when you’re not behind the wheel of a three-thousand pound machine that’s travelling at 80 miles per hour,” she suggested. “Why don’t we stop for food in the next town and have a little chat?”
Derek agreed and they drove to the next town in silence. He just wanted to know what was going on. He hated being out of the loop and it made him nervous that a stranger he’d just met knew something about him that he himself didn’t know. Avi-wolf. The words spun over and over in his brain and he tried to make sense of them, but he hadn’t heard them before. They finally stopped at a small diner. Derek got out of the car quickly, eager to hear whatever it was that Kira had to say.
They chose a booth in the far corner of the diner so that they could have some privacy and after they had ordered, Derek stared at Kira expectantly. It was the first time he’d actually been able to get a good look at her and he was surprised at how beautiful she managed to be – even though she had been in the sun all day. “So?” he asked.
“I’m not entirely sure where to start,” Kira laughed nervously. “Whenever I pictured us meeting, you already knew about everything… but I guess you didn’t find the letter.” She shook her head before taking a deep breath. “My mom’s name is Noshiko Yukimura,” she started. “She was a close friend of your mother, Talia.” Kira paused, searching for the right words, “You and I are both rarities. I am a Thunder Kitsune – one of three currently in existence. You’re an avi-wolf. I don’t know what that means, exactly. I assumed that you’d know that. I’m sure there’s an explanation in your letter. Anyway, our mothers knew that there would come a time where they wouldn’t be able to protect us any longer and they agreed that once that happened we would need to protect each other. We’re powerful individually, but together we’re unstoppable.” She stared at him for a moment. Her eyes narrowed, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Derek stared at her for a while, trying to absorb everything that Kira had just told him. He didn’t know anything about a letter, didn’t know what an avi-wolf was, and suddenly he felt like everything he’d known had been turned onto its head. “Our mothers wanted us to be a team?” he guessed, though he knew that it couldn’t be that simple.
“That’s one way to put it,” Kira shrugged. “Basically, our moms arranged for us to get married.”
“Derek choked on the water he’d been trying to swallow. “M… Married?” he sputtered.
“I can’t believe no one ever told you about this,” Kira shook her head. “My mom gave me the letter when I turned fourteen.” She pulled a folded envelope out of one of the pockets of her backpack and handed it across the table.
Derek carefully removed the yellowing paper from the envelope and unfolded it. He skimmed over it quickly, wanting to dismiss it as lies but there, at the bottom, was his mother’s signature. “We’re ‘destined for each other’ and ‘bound to be the greatest force on Earth’? And what’s this about a prophecy?” Kira shrugged again. “Wh… I guess we’ll have to look for my letter when we get back to Beacon Hills,” he said. Nothing made sense. If this was true, why didn’t he know about it? But it had to be true. His mom’s signature was definitely on the letter and there was no way it was a forgery.
After they’d finished eating, Kira and Derek both agreed that they should try to put all out of their minds until they were in Beacon Hills and could find the letter that had been left for Derek. For the remainder of the drive, Derek found himself stealing glances at Kira. She was beautiful, there was no denying that, and she seemed like someone he’d enjoy being around. She talked for the both of them, babbling on about various things for almost the entire ride. Her voice was pleasant to the ears and she was interesting enough that he actually paid attention to the stories she was telling.
When they finally turned onto the exit that led to Beacon Hills, it was late. Derek could tell that Kira was exhausted – it had been a long day for the both of them, but he suspected hers had been longer. “Do you just want to go to my place and we can leave the letter and everything for tomorrow morning?” Derek asked, glancing over to make sure that Kira was still awake.
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Kira mumbled. “I’m pretty tired. Would you mind if I took a shower? I feel a little gross from being in the sun for so long.”
“Yeah, no problem,” Derek replied as he parked in front of his building. He grabbed Kira’s backpack from the back seat, his bag from the trunk, and walked around to open the passenger door for her. He led her up to his apartment and dropped the bags onto his couch. He motioned towards the bathroom. “You can take a bath or a shower,” he told her. “There are towels underneath the sink. If you need anything, just let me know.”
Once the bathroom door was closed, Derek sank down onto his bed and rubbed his temples. This was definitely one of the weirdest days of his life, and that was saying something. He didn’t know how he was going to explain this to Scott and everyone else, especially when he didn’t even understand it himself. He changed out of his jeans and into sweatpants before grabbing a beer from the fridge.
“Hey Ki…” he’d looked up when he heard the bathroom door open, not expecting to be greeted by Kira wearing nothing more than a bra and underwear. Although he knew that he should, he couldn’t look away. Her long legs and toned stomach were tantalizing – she looked like a creature from a dream. “Why aren’t you wearing clothes?” he gulped.
“I forgot to pack something to sleep in,” she explained. “Would I be able to wear one of your t-shirts or something?” Kira asked. Derek stared for a moment longer before snapped out of his haze and walked over to his dresser to find a t-shirt for her to wear.
“Uhm, here you go,” he handed her a light blue shirt, doing his best not to stare at her lovely golden skin. “You can sleep in the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch,” he offered.
“You don’t have to do that!” Kira protested. “There’s plenty of room on the bed for both of us.” She laughed when she noticed his apprehensive glance, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to try anything. It’ll be more comfortable than the couch.”
“Are you sure?” Derek asked. “I don’t want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.”
“Yes, Derek, I’m sure,” Kira assured him. “It won’t make me uncomfortable.” She walked back into the bathroom and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “So what side of the bed do you want?”
Derek let Kira choose first and she chose the side closest to the wall. They turned out the lights and lay down. Despite the fact that they weren’t laying close together, Derek could feel the warmth of Kira’s skin, still dewy from her shower. She felt like a magnet, drawing him towards her. He’d never met someone like her before. He’d never felt this comfortable around anyone he’d just met – it already felt like they were best friends.
//
When Derek woke up the next morning he had Kira wrapped up in his arms, her head against his chest and a slight smile tugging on her lips. He didn’t want to wake her – it felt so nice having her close to him – so he just closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but he was interrupted by someone yelling, “Derek! Time to wake up! We were supposed to…” Scott stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that Derek was not alone. “What are you doing?” he dropped his voice to a whisper.
Derek opened his mouth to answer when Kira stirred in his arms. “Mm, good morning, Derek,” she smiled and sat up. “Oh, hi,” she said when she noticed Scott. Before Scott could say anything to her, she got up and ran into the bathroom.
“Okay, who’s that?” Scott asked, staring after her.
“She’s… a friend,” Derek answered. “What are you doing here, anyway?” he tried to change the subject.
“Well, she looked like more that ‘just a friend,’” Scott replied, which elicited an eye roll from Derek. “And we were supposed to have breakfast this morning. Obviously you had other plans,” he motioned towards the closed bathroom door.
“Look, can we do this later? It really isn’t a good time,” Derek sighed.
“Okay,” Scott agreed. “Dinner tonight, and bring your new ‘friend.’” He winked before he turned to leave.