Hey guys! Mik here, sorry for the lack of update like, at all... Truth be told I was in a pretty bad place and lost a lot of inspiration and drive to write even this fic, but I'm happy to announce that a user named nerfherder-han reached out to me and long story short, I've given him the story idea and passed on Yuu as an OC for him to adopt and continue writing! We've been brainstorming for some time about what I originally had in mind, what he plans to do, and I hope you guys will support him if you want to continue reading Yuu's story, even if it's a little different now.

He's changed the title from In My Eyes to "Volcano", which when I listened to the song it came from made me really think it fit Yuu a ton, so I was very happy for the name change! And to boot, he's even gotten a picture of Yuu and Jace commissioned as his pfp and story cover, so you can see what she looks like in the cover whenever! I'm super looking forward to seeing what he writes for her!

And for those curious to how the story will go down the path, he's sent me some snippets of scenes and I picked one I think will get y'all curious haha

"You're eating again."

Yuu didn't look away from the wall in front of her. She just idly chewed on the meat in her stew, ignoring her grandmother rather obviously as usual. Not that it seemed to stop Honoka from talking to herself to fill the silence.

"We were worried for a while, Ayumu," Honoka went on. She set down a glass of water on the bedside table for Yuu, neatly organising it among the other items. This room hadn't been cleaned for a while, but there wasn't much Yuu could really do about that, stuck in bed and all. "It's not healthy to starve yourself like this. But at least you're both recovering at the same time now. You went through such an ordeal."

And who was to blame for the ordeal? Yuu stopped eating. She set her bowl on the bedside table, pushing aside the water as she did so, and continued to stare at the wall. No matter how they tried to make it feel like a bedroom, they always missed that spot of mould at eye-level on the far wall. It wasn't that she'd call them lazy—honestly, the word seemed to be more rushed. With everything that went down in Alicante, it wasn't like they had time to prepare all of this right down to the perfect detail and live comfortably. They only had a small window of opportunity to take advantage of all the chaos, and Yuu had to admit they took damn good advantage of it in the grand scheme of things.

She had every right to blame them for her ordeal.

"Oh, darling, what would your mother say?" Honoka tutted. "You were never this picky before you moved to America."

A thousand retorts were on the tip of her tongue, but she'd long since lost her voice when she was whisked away from Idris. Hell, none of these people, not even her own grandparents, were worthy of her voice. They could die mad about her never even acknowledging them, and she'd be more than content with that. And with the way she was going, she'd probably die first and give them nothing to hold on to for all their efforts. Death by starvation was a tough way to go, though, and it was days like today where she caved and filled what little room her stomach would allow her to before she got sick.

"Well," Honoka went on, "at least you've got your protein. But no dango for dessert, not with a full bowl still left! Just because you're an adult now doesn't mean you can eat only sweets, young lady."

I'm not six, you senile old hag. You know damn well I'm not, either. You wouldn't need these chains if you truly believed I was still a kid.

"Oh, I spoke to Nadja earlier, as well." Honoka reorganised a few things on the bedside table. She picked up the bowl, picked a slice of the meat out of the broth, and chewed thoughtfully. "Your measurements are fluctuating but she's managed to make a nice dress we can alter later. I wish your mother could see it."

How quaint. Yuu was probably going to make fitting that dress a Herculean task if she had her way.

"The groom is recovering, too. I think we'll be able to move forward in another week or so. Thank goodness he heals faster than most."

If she focused hard enough, she could see the mould on the wall move a tad. Like it was breathing. Subtle, small breaths so as not to alert Honoka. She could understand why the mould wouldn't want to be discovered. Even though Honoka spoke more, Yuu tuned out the words entirely. She was just waiting for the woman to get bored, clean up behind her, and leave Yuu alone again. She used to hate being alone, but her own company was better than everyone else here.

All it took was ten more minutes of Honoka talking to herself. The old woman was ready to call this a successful talk, or whatever she wanted to call it, and she took the stew with her on her way out. She didn't have qualms with finishing off Yuu's leftovers, at least, and she chewed on some more meat as she locked the door behind her.

After a few bated breaths, the mould on the wall moved a little more. Yuu didn't blink. She just sat there, eyes wide, and watched the mould shift and breathe and spread. This was the only thing that kept her from giving up entirely right now, but even she couldn't tell if it was real or not anymore. First the red curls emerged from the wall, and then the rest of her body in the clothes Yuu last saw her in; her feet never touched the ground, her form never made any sound, and even now she still looked every bit like the ghosts Yuu used to fantasize about hunting in abandoned houses.

Clary Fray slowly glided over to the bed. And like every other time she appeared, phantom hands reached out towards Yuu in comfort.