smileyface209: Thanks for the review! You are right, Mika is like her living, breathing guardian angel! Lacus has teased her about it, but it went over her head. Yuu was lucky to have Guren there for him. They would have been met with the horsemen. So it's better they stay in the city. They have a better chance of survival with Mika hovering over them protecting them. :D


It was so hot that it felt as if the heat was trying to suffocate her. She tries to shift, but she isn't able to. Something is laying on her limbs trapping them. She panics instantly and opens the one that will open. Her other one cracks, but it's still swollen. She could faintly see out of it. Her body is covered in a light sheen of sweat. She turns her head coming face to face with a sleeping Izumo. His nose brushes hers. His hands reach out grabbing her shirt dragging himself closer to her body. She turns her head a little trying to see the other side.

There is another child sleeping on her. Laying across Izumo is yet another one child. His head is resting on her stomach. Two more are curled on her legs unknowingly cutting off circulation. She tries to shift them all around without waking them. It was dark inside the small house.

Her heart sinks. Their house. They failed. She could still feel the pain, but it wasn't as bad as it was before. Someone had cleaned up her face. It no longer feels as if it's cracking every time she moves. She manages to wiggle free of the group. Izumo opens his eyes and sits up a little. The little boy tumbles into her lap grumbles and crawls to join one of the others. They huddle together. Izumo rubs his eyes as he looks up at her. "Hungry?"

Her heart breaks as she stares down at him. She wishes he could be free, but it didn't seem likely. She reaches out and pats his head. He blinks at her tiredly and drags himself up. She can't stop the smile. "I'm fine, Izumo. Go back to sleep."

He stops moving and just stares down at her with sleep glazed eyes. He flops down onto his butt. He stretches awkwardly and says, "I'm fine promise. I look better than you."

She rolls her eyes at his comment as he shifts a little bit. He's now sitting next to her. He leans over into her body and closes his eyes. His body heat makes her sweat once again. She doesn't say anything though. She just leans back into him and rests her unbruised cheek on the top of his head. She could have lost him forever. The thought brings tears to her eyes. He's still here though. Still breathing beside her. His body isn't becoming cold somewhere deeper underground. She closes her eyes.

"Atsuko?"

"Hm?" Her mind shifts to the present.

"I love you." She smiles and turns her head enough to kiss the top of his head. It makes her lip sting, but it's worth it.

"I love you too, Izumo. Sleep now. I'm going to look for Sora. I want to talk to him," she whispers. He's already asleep though. His breath is deep and even. She sits there just listening to his breathing for a few seconds before wrapping an arm around his waist. She pulls and pushes till he is lay down instead of sitting. He grumbles incoherent words at her, but she just chuckles. She had to check on Sora.

Her eyes roam over the group counting them. They fall on the girl that was injured with her and Sora. She's wearing clean clothes and is curled up on her side at the back side of the group. She appears unharmed aside from the edges of some bruises peeking out. Atusko moves over and presses her forehead to the side of the girls head as gently as she could and puts a hand on her head. "I'm so sorry."

She stands up and moves quietly through the rest of the house. There is no sign of Sora. This makes her panic as she opens the door. She freezes when she see Sora. His back is to her. Mika is standing across the alleyway watching Sora. Sora glances over his shoulder at her. He looked exhausted. Her body shivers. His neck is bandaged where he was bitten. The sweat dries on her skin making her feel disgusting as she steps out and closes the door.

Sora steps to the side to give her more room. His shoulder brushes her. Mika is watching them both with a cold look in his blue eyes. Sora stares at the ground thoughtfully. She isn't sure what to say. She wanted to apologize to Sora; she wanted to thank Mika. She wanted to cry. Her body felt torn. Sora shifts, and it makes up her mind.

"Mi-" He turns and starts to walk down the street. She gaps after him stunned. She spares Sora a glance, but he won't meet her eyes. She hurries after Mika. "Wait! Mika, wait!"

He turns a corner, and she panics. She just lost sight of him. She rushes around the corner. He is already halfway down the street.

"Mika!" she calls desperately. Her body was still hurting so badly. She sees him stiffen before he turns to her slowly. She slows down to a stop in front of him. She is panting softly. Everything hurt. She probably stank, but she wanted him to know something. "Thank you. I know words aren't enough."

She lunges hoping to catch him off guard. Her body collides with his painfully, but she bites back any sound of pain as she hugs him as tight as she can. "I…. I…. I didn't…."

He doesn't respond. He doesn't return the hug, but it doesn't deter her.

"I…. Thank you," she whispers into his chest. "You saved them. You saved me. Thank you."

He shifts, and she wonders if he wants her to let him go. She lifts her head a little to look up at him. He is staring down at her with a guarded look on his face. He slowly lifts his arms up to return her hug loosely. It was almost like he was forcing himself to do it.

"You all would have died."

The blunt words makes her flinch. She closes her eyes and tries to pull away. He pulls her back and says harshly, "There are monsters out there. Don't you listen to anything? They target humans like you."

She just stands there and listens to him. His voice is laced with the sound of anger. "You wouldn't stand a chance against a horseman with kitchen knives. Could you be any more stupid?"

She flinches as he insults her. She once again tries to pull away, and he lets her get to the end of his reach and cements his hands on her upper arms trapping her again. He glares at her with that frosty look that could kill. She swallows softly and says, "We didn't think there was such things as monsters. It's a lie we are told. A lie to behave."

He gives her a gentle shake. "I've seen them. I've been outside the city walls."

She looks away from him and swallows again. What does she even say to that? She shivers and closes her eyes. She can feel him move and opens her eye to look up at him. He was leaning so he was her height and whispers, "You could have gotten them all killed if I hadn't shown up. That was so naïve. Do you know how that feels? To watch your loved ones die before you while you are powerless to even help them?"

His fingers dig into her skin. She flinches, but she tries not to say anything about the pain. He leans his head further down. "You could never."

"I saw my parents when they died," she whispers. He looks up at her and shakes his head slowly.

"It's not the same."

"I didn't love them any less," she whispers once again. She was worried about saying anything louder than that. His face softens just the smallest degree. "They didn't bleed out excessively. They didn't lay in pools of their own blood. You don't have to watch them struggle to break free. You didn't seem them run from a predatory who catches them without trying."

His hands slowly start to losen as his face falls into a look of pain. "You don't know what it's like to sacrifice yourself to try and avenge them. The pain of dying."

She tenses. "Mika, what are you talking about?"

He closes his eyes and drops his head. "It's different seeing little kids who have looked up to you for years die. They didn't stand a chance. An adult does, but not a child."

A shiver runs down her spine. She couldn't imagine seeing the dead bodies of the little kids laying around the ground. Her knees feel weak. She wants to collapse as she stares at him in horror. He's speaking like he knows it first-hand.

"Is that…what happened to your family?" He growls looking up at her. She recoils form his fanged growl. His look is truly frightening. He holds her in place though. He gives her a soft shake.

"Don't do that again. I might not ever make it in time again. Promise me, Atsuko."

She shivers. His fingers start to dig into her flesh again. "Promise. Me. Atsuko."

His voice is cold and rough. He sounded almost desperate. "I-I promise."

He releases her and steps back falling back into his cold persona again. He turns to leave. She swallows and reaches out before she can lose her nerve. Her hand catches his cloak. She shivers again as he looks back at her. "How….. How did you know?"

He stares at her, and she desperately hopes he isn't reverting back. Not after what they had been through. He shifts a little as she shivers again. "Ferid told me. He planted a human child around here. One to feed Sora lies, half-truths, and false hopes."

She sags a little as tears well up and fall silently down her face. "Why?"

Mika doesn't answer at all. He tugs on his cloak pulling it from her grip. She wraps her arms around her stomach and stands there trying to seem small. She knows that she screwed up royally. She should have stopped Sora. She should have said no. They should have….

She swallows hard trying to stop the tears.

"You won't be released by Ferid. He'll drag you back to his mansion. You'll be forced to suffer. He may even attempt to punish you. He knew you had tried to leave."

She flinches. "I…."

"I can't protect you from him if he involves the queen." The statement is cold, and she feels herself getting smaller and shaking more. This was a nightmare. What would the punishment be? It wouldn't involve her family would it? She would take all the blame.

Something drapes over her head blocking her view. It's heavy, and she flails around before she manages to get it off her head. Mika is gone. He hadn't even made a sound. She looks down at her hands. A white guard's cloak is hanging limply from her hands. She feels tears well up. She lets out a soft sob and pulls the cloak up to her face to stifle it. He had stayed till she woke up. He had been there to protect her family in her stead. He had protected her. It was stupid, but he must have thought she was cold.

She swallows back the rest of her sobs and wonders what she should do. It'd help her get home unnoticed easier. She releases a sigh and pulls it on. It's large on her, but her body heat immediately warms it. She relaxes into the warmth. She was colder than she thought she would be. She reaches back and pulls the hood up to cover her face as she pulls the front closed holding it closed with one hand as she turns and heads home.

She passes a vampire the second she turns a corner. He would have saw her if she hadn't been wearing the cloak. He didn't seem interested in her though. He didn't even glance at her. He just turned the corner and kept going. She picks up her pace. Maybe Mika's scent was clinging to the material. It must be overpowering her own.

She almost laughs at the gratitude building up as she passes a few more vampires. What was it that Lacus had told her when he had tormented her the other night? It slips her mind as pain rips through her head. Sora is still standing outside the house. She stops before him. He looks at her and glares coldly.

"You look stupid. Where did you get that?" His voice is harsh, but it's also tired. He sits down against the door. She watches him and then lets go of the cloak. She falls to her knees in front on him and pulls him in for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Sora. So sorry."

He swallows and reaches into the cloak hugging her back. He starts to shake. She can hear his soft sobs as he buries his face into her shoulder. She closes her eyes trying not to hiss in pain. It was the one she landed on. He takes a while to stop crying.

Finally, they are sitting inside with meager scraps to eat. A candle is lit on the table. Mika's cloak is folded on the table beside her. It's been silent for a while.

"He carried you back. He wouldn't let anyone touch you," Sora says softly poking his food. "He knelt down and let the little kids check on you. He told them that you were fine. That you just had an accident and had to sleep for a little bit."

He lets out a shuddering breath shoving the food away. "It's all my fault. I was so desperate to save you I lost sight of the true dangers of living here. I blindly followed that kid. I should have just figured it out myself."

He rests his arms on the table and puts his forehead against his forearms. She reaches out and grabs his arm tightly.

"We are going to get punished. They'll kill us," he says slightly muffled. She watches him struggle. She didn't know what to say to him. His eyes lift to glare at the white material at her side. "I hate him. I hate that it was him that saved us."

She releases a sigh and ruffles his hair. He gives her a sour look. She smiles a little and leans forward. "Bedtime."

He stares at her and scoffs. They both stand up. He snatches the cloak off the table and shoves it into her chest. "Keep it with you till you can return it. I don't want us indebted to him more than we already are."

With that, he turns and goes to bed. She stares after him and then looks at the cloak. Mika must have known she'd pass the vampires and gave her an easy way out. He was trying to protect her while he wasn't here physically.

She makes her way to bed setting the cloth off to the side. She glances at her family and feels relief. They all came out mostly unharmed. She was eternally grateful. She lays down. It's a while before sleep finds her, but it does eventually.