A/N: Chapter two is here! If you haven't already noticed this story is pretty much told through Haruka's perspective. It makes things a lot easier. I don't have anything really important to say, sorry. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: do not own the Tactic's anime, manga, or characters.

Through the Eyes of a Child

Chapter Two: Here I Am… But Where is Here?

An annoyingly bright light made Haruka open his eyes. He was lying on his back looking up into a clear blue sky. It took him a moment to regain his senses. I was fighting the demon with Kantarou… Kantarou! Haruka sat up quickly and looked around; Kantarou wasn't in sight and neither was the demon. Where am I? Haruka didn't see any landmarks he recognized. Only his ripped coat and scraped shoulder confirmed that it wasn't all just a bad dream.

A rustling noise made Haruka look behind him quickly. He stood up with a quite slowness and summoned his staff in case of danger. A small dark-haired boy was looking through the thick undergrowth. He sighed seemingly exasperated. He straightened and placed his hands on his hip frowning slightly.

"He's not here either!" he yelled behind him.

Another voice answered, "He must be hiding like the baby he is! He's so dumb." A second taller boy pushed his way through the brush to stand beside the first. "Let's go home I'm bored and my stomach is starting to growl. Hey guys we're leaving!" There were several shouts of acknowledgement from various surrounding areas. The two turned and started walking in Haruka's direction. The small one was the first to see the tengu, his staff now lowered, watching them.

"Hey mister what are you doing out here? Are you lost?" Haruka looked at the child skeptically before replying with a terse 'no.' "Fine whatever… what's that funny looking stick?" He took a bold step forward and reached out to touch the staff. The brazenness of the two boys irritated Haruka, who drew back and released a low growl. Immediately the taller boy stepped forward.

"Who are you? We don't like strange people wandering so close to our village. Just go on your way weirdo." At this Haruka scowled quickly pointing his staff towards the boys. He summoned just enough lightning to make the top crackle and glow.

"How far away is the shrine?" The boys' eyes went wide and just shook their heads dumbly. "The abandoned shrine, where is it?" Terrified, the boys clumsily took off running. With an exasperated sigh, Haruka ran his hand through his hair and dismissed his staff. He had no idea what to do. Spreading his wings he took to the air to get his bearings. Despite a few villages scattered in different directions there was nothing but natural expanse. Still Haruka was not able to identify anything familiar. The shrine was no where to be seen. Of course some kind of concealing spell could have been used but that only posed more issues than answers. The whole situation was too illogical for him. Questions buzzed through his head as he landed. He gingerly massaged his temples. How long had he been unconscious? How did he get so far away from the shrine? How did he get separated from Kantarou?

Worry for his master returned suddenly. He could still hear the ear piercing scream. Is he still alive? The thought tore at him. A strangling frustration took hold of him as he remembered. I couldn't even move to protect him. I couldn't do anything!

The sound of rapid movement startled him from his thoughts and he turned to face the noise. Thinking it was the nuisances, Haruka summoned his staff ready to teach them once and for all. A lone figure was running blindly and crashed into Haruka at full speed. The person, nowhere near Haruka's size, fell backwards forcefully. The child let out a startled cry, covered his face with his arms, and started shouting.

"I won't say goblins don't exist. I won't, I won't, I won't!" The voice was strangled with tears. "I'm not a freak! Leave me alone! Just leave me alone!" It was obvious that the outburst was a means of defense and that the child had automatically assumed Haruka was going to hurt him. The tengu took advantage of the moment to glance over the huddled figure. He could see several dark discolored bruises on the boy's pale arms and his clothes were a mess. Haruka quickly concluded that this was not a member of the group he had already encountered and put away his staff. There was something eerily familiar about the fair haired form in front of him.

When the tengu did not respond, the boy slowly lifted his head and peeked out from between his arms. Haruka was greeted by two tearfully bright, red eyes.

Gasp! Who could it be? Sorry just had to say that. Anyways this chapter might have been a little short or a little slow. I apologize. I will do better in the future. Chapter three is on the way. For now reviews are greatly appreciated!

To my Anonymous Reader/Reviewer: Thank you for your review! I know the first chapter was a little disturbing. You have to make your own assumptions as to Kantarou's state back at the shrine. I hate hurting him though... T.T