Take my hand…

"Where are you…?"

Take my hand…

"I can't see anything! Where are you!?"

Take my hand…

"I-I can't."

The darkness surrounded. There were no hands. No direction, nothing. There was no hope. The darkness faded slightly as light started to pierce through. This light was familiar…it was different. It wasn't from this world; it was a sign of relief.

The sun was at about midway through the sky with clouds spread thinly about it. The air was light and fresh, the perfect day! The town was awake and everyone was up trying to enjoy the amazing weather. Everyone except one girl, Yumi Kahae. She could be found in her usual napping spot, the tallest palm tree by the ocean which so happened to be the most hidden of all the trees. She went here not to run away from everyone but just to get a good sleep. Yumi wasn't the type to sleep a good day away.

Her body twitched slightly, she had been dreaming. Her white ears, pointed back showing her deep sleep. Her eyes were shut tight; her face bunched up. The sun showed her almost perfect form. She was athletic and in shape but wasn't muscular. Her skin was almost snow white making it slightly difficult to look at her in direct sunlight. Yumi's hair was normally pulled back in either a pretty ponytail that allowed her front bangs to hang down or in pigtails. It all depended on the day and what she was doing. Rarely did you see her hair down even though she got compliments about how pretty and gorgeous she was when it was. Her face was cute in a way with her small slightly darker nose. She had markings on her face as most Mithra do. Hers were a light brown that wrapped around under her eyes and two above them. Not too many Mithra had as many stripes as she did or in the pattern similar to hers. She was a bit unique.

She laid slouched against the palm tree, still twitching slightly. Something was happening inside her head; a dream or a nightmare? Her ears flipped forward to an alert position as he eyes opened almost instantly. Her breathing was deep. It was a nightmare.

"Why do I keep dreaming such weird things…" Yumi sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "All they give me is a bunch of headaches…" She propped herself up to a standing position, stretching fully. She stared out into the ocean. It was beautiful; the waves were almost silent today. The water here in Windurst was always crystal clear. She took a deep breath and smiled as she took in the fresh air. "This town is perfect."

"But nowhere near as perfect as you, beautiful." Yumi jumped. The deep voice that came from behind her startled, her making her heart race again. Two hands came from behind her and wrapped around her torso. She looked down at the hands, trying to calm her racing heart, only to see armor…white armor. The reflection off of it told her it had been polished recently. The fine details on it looked familiar, like she had been to an area before that had those same markings. It was Paladin armor. She only knew one Paladin.

"Zenji!" Yumi said, turning quickly to him. She looked up at him, smiling. His hair was dark, almost pitch black, and short. His eyes were moss green but his left one was slightly darker than the right. His eyes were her favorite part about him, they could suck her in and cause her to stare at him for longer than she intended. His armor matched his gloves, detailed and clean. Yumi wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hugging him as tight as she could. "I thought I'd never see you again…"

Zenji laughed slightly. "It takes more than a few Orcs to keep me still. I tried to get here faster but as soon as we got done with one mission, we were assigned to another. I tried sending Mog to you with a message but I guess he didn't make it to you. I'm sorry… But I'm here now and that's all that matters, right?" Zenji always had a way to calm Yumi, even in her most angered states. His voice was just…soothing.

"Yeah, I'm just glad you are okay. I was worried when we were separated…I didn't think we would see each other again." Yumi felt a tear drop slide down her cheek. It wasn't like her to cry. She didn't even know she was. She quickly wiped it from her face so he didn't see her.

Zenji pulled her away, still holding onto her arms. He smiled, tilting his head to the side just a small amount and held out his hand. "Let's go, we need to catch up. Take my hand."

Yumi stared at his hand, thinking. "What did you say?" She asked, keeping her hands tight to her side. She only just had this dream, was this just her mind messing with her?

"Take my hand?" Zenji was confused. Yumi never asked for him to repeat things. He knew she always listened and took in exactly what was said to her. He watched her stand there, hands to her side and her tail straight down. He knew something was going on…"What's wrong?"

"I-I can't." She mumbled, quietly. Zenji couldn't hear her. He took a step to her reaching for her shoulder. Yumi dodged quickly, taking a few steps back from him.

"Yumi, what happened? Talk to me, please!" He tried again getting closer to her. His armor was loud and every step he took, it showed how heavy it was. He was strong, muscular and well over a foot taller than her. Was she scared of him now? Thoughts just ran through his head, plaguing him with thoughts he wouldn't normally think. He started to question simple things, like her loyalty. She wouldn't, would she? He took another step closer to her and of course, she took another one back.

Yumi's back was pressed against the walls the surrounded the cliff. It was warm from the sun resting on it. She quickly jumped up on top of it, still keeping direct eye contact with Zenji. Her bangs covered her eyes and her face was painted with fear. "Yumi…" Zenji whispered, putting his hand down. She quickly jumped up onto the wall trying to get away from this strange deja vu she was having. "What are you doing? Get down from there before you fall."

The young Mithra, without looking once, leapt backwards off of the wall and into the silent but deadly ocean without a splash being heard. All she could hear before she hit the water's surface was Zenji's distorted voice, calling her name one last time.