Takumi shifted in his seat, elbow propped onto his desk and cheek in his palm. His teacher was discussing something about basic arithmetic but he had finished his work awhile ago, now finding himself bored out of his mind. He glanced to his right, observing Leo reading and equally unfocused on the teacher.

The boy's amber eyes rolled over the rest of the classroom but nothing seemed to catch his attention. Why could he not just skip a grade? It seemed like everyday he would finish his work early and zone out. His thoughts would trail back to the nights spent practicing his archery and coming home to read under the luminescence of fireflies, his conversations with Ryuurei when he could not sleep and during his dreams.

Takumi frowned, remembering that his father was going to test his archery after he got home from school. He may have been skilled for his age, but only hitting a bulls-eye 46 times out of 50 was atrocious. His father would surely think him a disgrace and send him off. Ryoma could probably do better, even if it was his first time picking up a bow.

As much as he loved his siblings, there was envy that undermined his thoughts. Ryoma was a freshman in high school and already seen as a star-to-be on the football team. He was excelling in his classes and was easily in the top ten of his year. Hinoka was in middle school but was the star of the girl's volleyball team. She may not have been as smart as her older brother but she certainly matched him in brawn and will power. Kamui was only a year older than him but was more promising than he could ever hope to be: everybody was her friend and she was a natural leader. Even little five-year-old Sakura had a kindness that shined beyond her years and was a beacon of happiness.

And himself? Takumi scowled under his breath. There was nothing about him that made him special, nothing that separated him from his siblings. Anything he did, he was outdone by one of them, left in their shadows. He wasn't good enough to be a Shirasagi. He never was.

Anankos stirred from his sleep. He was instantly bombarded by pessimistic thoughts and negative emotions seeping into his consciousness. He could feel tears pricking at his partner's eyes and fingernails digging into his leg to hold them back. If it had been the first life, before they had bonded, the dragon would have taken pleasure in seeing the boy suffer with his own inner demons; now, it pained him equally.

He knew he could not leave his partner like this. Exerting some control over the body, he repressed the negative thoughts and brought happier memories to Takumi's conscious. Feeling the boy slowly relax and stop stabbing his leg was already a step in the right direction. It made Anankos wonder why he had ever intentionally caused this child pain.

Blinking away his tears, Takumi was unable to recall what had caused them in the first place. His thigh had nail markings on them and he had to question if he had done them or not. For some reason, memories of spending time with his family and laughs shared together flashed in his vision and he could not help himself from smiling with nostalgia.

"Takumi," the teacher's voice drew him from his thoughts and his arm fell onto his desk in surprise. He decided to ignore Leo's quiet snickering as the woman continued. "Would you like to explain your answer for number eight?"

Sliding his paper towards him from the corner of his desk, his eyes rolled over to the problem. It was a simple addition problem followed by using division. "Well, you have to add four, and that gives you twelve. Then, you divide by two and get six."

He slumped back into his chair after a praise from his teacher. At least the day was nearly over.

He was caught off guard by the mutter from his neighbor. "Are you bored out of your mind too?"

As much as Takumi wanted to instantly agree, he felt the urge to give the blond a snarky reply. "Wow, I didn't know you could read and talk. You made it seem like you couldn't multitask the other day."

Leo clicked his tongue and acted unctuous but Takumi noticed the way his fingers twitched in recoil. "I guess we're in the same boat because I didn't know you could be bratty and prickly."

He nearly lost his temper and yelled but reconsidered due to the consequences. The teacher calling him out in front of the entire class, a warning, a call home... His mind swirled with the repercussions from a single action. He lowered his voice into a whisper-shout, "And you wonder why you have no friends!"

Leo seethed, garnet eyes narrowed. "Like you have any!" Takumi sure had a way with riling up the blond. Typically he was cool and composed, but there was something about the gray-haired boy that set him off.

Takumi nearly rebutted he had Ryuurei but held his tongue. What good was an imaginary friend? Leo would simply make fun of him and admitting his existence was worse than saying he had no friends. Being so lonely that he made up an imaginary friend sounded shallow and childish.

Instead, he hmph'ed, crossed his arms, and turned away from the blond. Leo returned to his book and Takumi checked the boy in his peripherals every once in awhile. They stayed like that for a few minutes and it was not too long after that class was let out. He grabbed his bag and kept as far away from Leo as he could on the way out.

When he spotted Kamui, Sakura, and Mikoto, he strode over. He tugged at his backpack as it hung limply from one shoulder and smiled at the hug from his mother.

"Are we ready to go?" Her voice was gentle, barely heard over the chatter from the families around them. The three children nodded and they began to walk. The sun was out and there was a nice breeze, making the walk pleasant.

Not too far from the school, Sakura became tired and Takumi gave her a piggy back ride - something that his mother smiled at him for. Perhaps being a big brother was the only thing Takumi was good for.

When they arrived home, Mikoto made her way to the kitchen and began to start cooking dinner. "I should be done in about two hours. Make sure to do your homework or you won't get dessert!"

The three agreed before going their own ways; Kamui went with Sakura to play with their dolls and Takumi dropped his backpack off in his room before heading back outside. He retrieved the target, his wooden bow, and the quiver filled with arrows before making his way to the woods near his house. Getting some practice in before his father got home from work to evaluate him sounded like a good plan.

As he walked, he clicked his tongue and called out to Ryuurei. "Ryu, are you up?"

Anankos had not been sleeping but he liked giving his partner his privacy. He did enjoy watching the argument with the soul that was once Prince Leo of Nohr, however.

I am now, he whispered. Taking notice of the weight in Takumi's arms, he inquired, Are you practicing again?

"Yep. I need to be the best I can be if I want Tou-chan to be proud of me." The boy nodded and Anankos found himself drawing more similarities between this Takumi and the original. Both had that same drive to become better and push their limits, as well as the undermining motivation of becoming "worthy" of being a part of his family.

The Silent Dragon hummed, mind trailing back to the Hoshidan royal family. Of course, many of his memories of that time were from Takumi's perspective, who idolized his siblings. Anankos could not tell if the boy's siblings were as amazing as he made them out to be, but they had to have some talent to be worthy of being royals.

"Um, Ryu?" The slight hesitation in Takumi's voice surprised him.

Yes, Taki? He kept the confusion from entering his tone but he wondered what was bothering Takumi. Was it last night's incident with the coyotes? Or maybe it was about his dream a few nights ago about the fall into the Bottomless Canyon?

"Are... Are you just in my head? Like an imaginary friend?"

Oh.

It sounded stupid at face value; a seven-year-old old child asking if his imaginary friend was real or not. Anankos could easily lie and say he was a figment of Takumi's imagination but something told him not to. Telling the truth was certainly not as enticing either - how he admitted during the dream was beyond him - so a half-truth would do for now.

Thinking back on what he told the boy when he first revealed himself, he made up his mind. I told you I was your protector, didn't I? You were the one who called me your friend.

Truthfully, Takumi could not remember when he first met Ryuurei. For as long as he could remember, there was a voice in his head and it kept him company when his family was preoccupied. He did not exactly have real friends either so the voice was his only "friend," if one could even call him that. He never really questioned it - he knew many other children had intangible companions but none of the others had blackouts and found themselves in places they were before losing consciousness.

"You didn't answer my question, Ryu," he stated plainly; there was determination in his voice. He had stopped in his tracks not too far from the clearing in the middle of the forest, placing the archery supplies on the grass in front of him temporarily. He proceeded to cross his arms, a familiar stance it seemed, and continued with just as much precision. "I asked if you were all in my head. Are you a figment of my imagination? Did I make you up because I had no friends? ... Is there going to be a time where I grow up and you won't be there anymore?"

The dragon held his tongue, the words caught in his throat. The boy was perceptive and suspicious as always, and Anankos found himself finding even more similarities to the first life. Perhaps Takumi remembered the dream and had not let up on it; maybe he got the hint that Anankos was not what he seemed and something urged him to ask. Indulging the child with a few secrets would not be too bad...

To answer your question, no, I'm not a figment of your imagination, he spat out the words with more distaste than he intended, but there was no apologizing for his tone at this point. And... well... I won't be leaving you.

The we've been connected for hundreds of years was left unsaid.

Informing Takumi of all of the pain he had suffered through during that first lifetime would be too much for a seven-year-old. Maybe when he was older - much older - Anankos might finally tell him the truth. Perhaps burying the memories of the White Night Kingdom and the war was for the best. This was a new life, after all.

Without answering, Takumi picked up his archery supplies and continued walking to the clearing. Anankos almost confronted the boy about the silence he was met with but he figured he would give him time to think. It may not have been the entire truth, but it was enough to turn the gears in his head. The dragon decided to leave the boy to his own devices and head to the subconscious, busying himself with looking through old memories.

Takumi pegged the target to a tree and walked a few meters away, nocking an arrow into the bow. He steadied his aim and fired, landing a bulls-eye. He frowned, noticing it was not dead center but slightly off.

Ryuurei's words replayed in his head and, no matter how often he attempted to refocus on his archery, his thoughts continuously returned to what the voice had said. He was not an imaginary friend? He would be in his head forever? What kind of thing was Ryuurei?

Takumi almost regretted asking. His trust in the voice was beginning to waver and the fear of some thing in his head taking control of his body crept into his thoughts. The rational part of his mind tried to rule that out; there was no way Ryuurei was going to hurt him. If he had bad intentions, he could have easily already done something to Takumi or his family.

His family. What if he told someone about Ryuurei's existence? Maybe his mother could give reassuring words and wash his fears away. Kamui was also good with words; maybe she could comfort him.

Suddenly, pain shot through his head. It felt like something in his brain had snapped. The pain was sharp and lanced through his skull in a split second and a scream nearly escaped his lips. It would have if his body had not tensed up. He collapsed to his hands and knees, and visions of things he never experienced bombarded him.

He saw blood. Blood and corpses and more blood, violet smoke crawling up his skin and ungodly amounts of bodies surrounding him. He saw a man with a katana dug deep into his chest. He saw a woman on the verge of death, one he knew was important to him, in the arms of someone undeserving, and he felt anger build up in his chest. Hatred rose like bile in his throat, and the flames enveloped him until he was no more. Words he failed to make out echoed in his head and he felt the urge to kill, to kill her.

Someone was shaking him. Almost instantly, he came to, hands gripping at his head and tears rolling down his cheeks. He would have went to brush them away but was still in shock after what had happened.

"Are you okay?" He looked up to meet golden eyes and cyan hair and a concerned expression. He was still disoriented but found himself coming back to himself with just her touch.

"I-I think so..." The fear he felt died away, and his heart was beginning to slow to its normal pace. He was reassuring the girl just as much as he was reassuring himself, but she only seemed mildly pleased by his answer by the look on her face.

"Are you sure? I heard you screaming all the way from the lake," she pouted, and Takumi realized she could not be that much older than him. Her voice was higher pitched than his but her words held a maturity to them beyond her years. Something about her seemed familiar but he could not quite put his finger on it.

"I was screaming...?" Distantly he wondered what she would think of him, a boy clutching his head screaming in the middle of the woods. Did she think he was crazy? Surely, if the roles were reversed, he would write her off as some wack job. And if she told anyone about how she found him, he would have to run away and hide; his pride would be in shambles and he would never be able to show his face again.

She nodded and was hesitant to take her hands away from him; he still looked weak and she feared he would collapse as soon as she let go. To salvage any sense of pride he had left, he steadied himself on his own and she leaned back, getting a better look at him. Takumi felt self-conscious under her gaze but her eyes were soft and warm; she reminded him of his mother.

"My name is Azura... And what may I call you?"


A/N: Tl;dr: Takumi and Leo fight, Takumi questions the voice in his head, tries to practice his archery, Anankos looks through his memory and gives his partner flashbacks™, and Azura comes to save the day.