What was supposed to be a beautiful, clear day turned out to be a spiraling disaster.

While sleeping in his bed, Hanks was suddenly awoken by an explosion from outside. Jolting upright, he unconsciously took hold of his glasses from the bedside table and began weaving his way over to the open window across his room. Putting the glasses on his face, he blinked a few times and leaned out.

His eyes widened.

"Oh, no…"

Quickly, he slipped into his casual clothes and shoes, went down the staircase and busted the door open. Looking around, he took notice of Marie, Ted, and a few of the other children from a distance.

Raising his arm high, the bearded man cried with all his might, "GET BACK!"

Heeding his words, some of the crowds of people, including the middle-aged innkeeper and the children behind her abided his words and went off in search for higher ground.

"EVERYONE, GRAB SOME SANDBAGS!" Hanks instructed, his voice full of authority as he, too walked over to the direction of where a large heap of bags made of sand was located. "WE NEED TO STOP THE WATER FROM OVERFLOODING!"

And so, the able men and women went straight to work—gathering altogether to the same place and grabbing as many sandbags as they possibly could. While the women and some elderly gathered the items, it was the men who took the responsibility of filling the circular surface around the fountain with the sandbags.

Hanks joined in as well, mustering much of his strength to concentrate on the heavy lifting. While everyone was fulfilling their duties to protect each other, the bearded man looked around, his eyes narrowing as he tried to find a certain dark-haired man amongst the crowd.

When he couldn't find him through the frantic crowd and the waterworks, Hanks clenched his teeth and whirled his head around to face a nearby child. "Ted!" He suddenly cried, "Go and fetch Yuri!"

Nodding, the boy ran off toward the direction of the public inn.

"Hanks, let me help you!"

Hearing Marie's plea behind him, the bearded man furiously shook his head. "No, you must take care of the children!" He insisted in an urgent manner, "We mustn't let anyone else get close!" And reverted his concentration on collecting more sandbags and throwing them near the growing pile next to the fountain. "Damn it, Yuri…where are you?"

A few minutes later, his ears picked up a familiar baritone voice.

Smiling, he paused on what he was doing and directed his line of vision at his foster son who stood a few distances away from him. He then took notice of his faithful dog, Repede, who sat idly next to a frightened little girl and her mother. Straightening his posture and setting his hand on his hip, Hanks greeted him with, "Glad you could find the time to stop by, Yuri!"

Yuri flashed a grin, following his example by placing his hand on his hip as well. "Take it easy with the water sports, old man." He replied back rather casually, "You're not getting any younger."

"You're up next," Hanks called out on the other side of the fountain. "Not afraid of a little water, I hope." He didn't bother to stand any longer to hear the latter's response as he went straight back to work. Once more, he squatted his knees and took hold of a sandbag. "Come on now, put your backs into it!" He cried aloud, tossing the heavy item near the fountain. "Heave, ho!"

Now that Yuri was in the picture, the dreadful taste in his mouth had dissipated as he geared himself to work. Deep down, he knew that this was his fault. About a week before the incident, he pushed the entire community to get together and use some of their Gald for the repairs. And when the amount wasn't enough, he had no choice but to part with his beloved Jiri's keepsake which was her silver necklace.

If Yuri found out about this, who knows what kind of argument they'd get themselves into.

Brushing the thought off, Hanks continued on with the hard labor as he chose to ignore the aching weight from carrying too many supplies.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed his foster son standing idly from afar.

"Hey, Yuri," He called out once more, "If yer not gonna help out, stand clear! This is dangerous!"

Much to his dismay, the latter ignored his warning and approached him.

"Hanks, did you see the blastia core anywhere?" Yuri began, "You know, that shiny piece in the center?"

Progressing his words, the bearded man froze in his place. Loosening his grip on a sandbag, he slowly stood up and peered up to lock eyes with the swordsman. "…Is it gone?"

"Yeah," Yuri answered, confirming his suspicions. "The blastia won't work with the core missing." Mulling the thought over, he pressed on. "That aristocrat who came to do the repairs was the last person to touch it, right?"

Hanks nodded. "That's right," He replied back, "a Mr. Mordio."

"And he lives in the royal quarter?"

"Yeah, so?" Sighing, the bearded man turned his back and said, "Forget about that, Yuri. Give us a hand here!"

Unsurprisingly, Yuri rejected his offer, claiming that he had an errand to run.

As he watched his foster son begin to walk away, Hanks cried, "Hey, wait just a minute!" And chased after him. Once they were at mere distance from one another, he crossed his arms and added, "You're seriously thinking of going to Mr. Mordio's place, are ya?"

Angling his body around, Yuri lifted his hand and waved it. "The royal quarter?" He asked, his eyebrow raised. "Me? I wouldn't be caught dead going to a place like that. It gives me the creeps." Again, he started making his way up the road that would lead him to the Public Quarter. Seconds later, Repede joined in to follow after him.

All Hanks could do was sigh. "Damn it, Yuri…" He groaned, followed by a low curse under his breath. "Just because you can do a few tricks with that Bodhi blastia of yours, you think you're invincible." Shrugging his shoulders, he hastily made his way to the edge of the chaos. "Here's hoping he doesn't do anything crazy…"

On cue, another voice rang out, catching his attention.

"He always seems to cause problems when the lower quarter's involved," One of the men spoke up.

Hanks inhaled a sharp breath and exhaled. "Even the Knights have started keeping an eye on him…" He stressed, his voice slightly cracking.

Sensing his worry, the man assured his elder that the swordsman was gonna be fine. "It's just an average day for him."

Peering over his shoulder, Hanks looked on to the road overhead, his tired eyes full of worry.

Through the collaborated efforts of the Lower Quarter, they managed to get the surge of water from the fountain to subside. Once that was done, Hanks instructed the able men and women to tend to the injured prior to the earlier spout.

As it turns out, the mage—by the name of Mr. Mordio, who was supposed to fix the aque blastia later in the afternoon, had gone and left the Lower Quarter. And in the wake of his disappearance, an explosion erupted from within the fountain, spawning a tremendous amount of fresh water to burst out with great force.

Knowing that, Hanks felt disappointed in himself. How foolish he was to easily get hoodwinked and declared to the community that he'd do what he can to pay them back.

Excusing himself from the crowd, he fixated his eyes at the long, winding road up ahead.

"Woof!"

Hanks turned to face the canine who stared at him with a look of understanding.

Nightfall arrived and still, there was no sign of his foster son.

After supper, the bearded man strolled outside and gazed intently at the entrance to the Public Quarter, hoping, waiting, and praying for his foster son to return safely. Luckily, he wasn't alone as Repede, Marie, Ted, and even a few elders who were close to the dark-haired man joined him and delivered words of comfort to the worrisome father.

Soon, it was morning.

Skipping breakfast, Hanks took the time to patrol around the area. Accompanied by one of the little girls from the orphanage, he sat on one of the corners near the fountain and stared off into the distance.

A scampering of footsteps caught his attention and he slowly got up from his seat. Looking up, his eyes lengthened in size as he saw his foster son strolling around the perimeter of the public square. "Yuri!" He called loudly, startling the latter. "Where've you been?"

Directing his fixation on the bearded man, Yuri shrugged his shoulders. "I got an invitation to the castle and had the most marvelous time."

Hanks shook his head, a bit annoyed yet secretly grateful to see him unscathed. "Of all the…" And then he saw her—not too far away from where his foster son stood was a pink-haired woman donning a white and pink dress, accentuated with golden hues. Shifting his eyes from left through right, he cleared his throat and asked, "And who's the young lady?"

Before he could take a step forward, the woman beat him to it. "Pleased to meet you," She greeted, her voice soft and polite. "I'm Estellise." And bowed her head in respect.

Hanks returned her gesture. "The pleasure's all mine, Miss." Giving her a nod and a gentle smile, he wasted no time and strolled over to his foster son who appeared to be watching their interaction in amusement.

"More importantly, about those Imperial Knights…" Hanks began, changing the topic. "They've been so busy looking for you, they haven't paid any attention to our fiasco down here." Crossing his arms over his chest, he furrowed his eyebrows. "So, you've managed to tick them off, huh?"

"It looks that way," Yuri answered him, his expression apathetic. "Has Repede come back yet?"

"Sure did, and he was carrying some bag."

"What happened to it?" Yuri pressed on.

Thinking it over, Hanks eventually settled with, "Should be up in his room."

"Go pick it up later," Yuri suggested, smirking. "Give it a shake. It has a nice jingle to it. Mordio liked it too."

Hanks blinked his eyes, surprised by his words. "You met Mr. Mordio?"

"Yeah, but the rat left town. Apparently, he's some big shot hailing from a city called Aspio."

Nodding, the bearded man sighed. "Left town, huh?" He muttered, his eyes downcast. "Then that means…we've been hoodwinked."

"Afraid so," Yuri confirmed, placing his hand under his chin as a memory resurfaced from the back of his mind. "His house was empty, and I doubt he's even a real noble."

"…I see."

Tipping his head to the side, the dark-haired man noticed that the fountain was drained of water. Excluding the large wagons and crates of boxes, the sandbags that the people were tossing earlier were nowhere to be found. "On the bright side," Yuri continued, "Looks like the aque blastia's finally stopped leaking water."

Switching his focus to the fountain behind him, Hanks sighed. "Well, without a core, it won't budge."

"Is there enough water for the time being?" Yuri wondered aloud.

"Yeah, but it won't last long," Hanks expressed, wrapping himself with his arms. "After that, we'll just get it from the river. Get the runs, though."

Yuri narrowed his eyes. "And the Knights aren't going to help. Guess I'll have to get it back from the thief myself."

Alarmed, Hanks swiftly moved his head over his shoulder to face his foster son. "What? You aren't thinking of following Mordio beyond the barrier, are ya?"

The dark-haired man grinned. "Don't worry," He assured him, "I'll be back before you know it."

And that was all Hanks needed to hear. "Who's worried, hmm?" He teased, his wrinkly face beaming. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Anyway, it's a good opportunity for ya. No need for ya to hurry back here."

Confused, Yuri asked for clarification.

Shutting his eyes closed, Hanks drew in a breath. As much as he wanted the swordsman to stay longer, he knew that encouraging him to leave was for the best. The last time he'd dared to step foot outside, besides visiting Jiri and his mother's graves, was when he was nineteen—when he was still a rookie knights.

Now, at the ripe age of twenty-one—a full-fledged adult, and he continued to linger through the streets of the Lower Quarter. If this keeps up, he'll continue to get scolded and looked down by the community who would often compare him to his more accomplished childhood friend/foster brother.

And yet, here it was—a window of opportunity for him to go off and find that missing piece he's been trying to look for all these years.

In order to make this work, Hanks knew that he had to manipulate his words carefully. Make one mistake and he might get suspicious.

Well, here goes nothing.

"What I mean is, we can get along just fine without you," Hanks explained as he reopened his eyes to take a look at his foster son. "Even Flynn used to say, 'I wonder how long Yuri plans on living this life'."

With the mention of Flynn, Yuri rolled his eyes. "He needs to learn to mind his own business…" He grumbled, sighing deeply.

Eventually, everyone in the community spawned and rushed over, their expressions filled with interest as they took notice of Yuri engaging in a private conversation with a mysterious pink-haired woman.

"Who's that?" Ted asked as he hid behind the bearded man.

"She looks familiar…" Marie muttered softly to herself, though Hanks managed to hear it.

"Her name's Estellise," Hanks told them, his eyes implanted on the odd-looking couple. He watched from a distance, taking note of how the younger woman carried herself with grace and yet, he couldn't help but recall the first impression he had of her. "Such a sweet girl, a complete opposite of our troubled brat over there."

A few minutes later, a loud cry blew up from the opposite direction. Hanks and the others, including Yuri and Estellise, turned their heads to find an older knight clad in a bright orange and silver uniform.

"YURI LOWELL!" The knight, who they immediately recognized to be LeBlanc, barked. "You've given my two lackeys a headache! Now be a good boy and turn yourself in!"

"Well, that's our cue," Yuri spoke up, turning to face his foster father with an amusing grin. "Looks like I won't be coming back here for a while."

Hanks chuckled.

"Never a dull moment with you around," He commented, setting a hand on his hip as he offered the latter a prideful smile.

Upon catching sight of the same little girl, who he was conversing earlier, stroll over to him and signaled a wave, he nodded and looked back. "After this, I'll be even with you for getting that money back."

Yuri widened his grin. "Just make sure you don't kick the bucket blowing it all on some crazy party,"

"Heh, same to you," Hanks tossed back, "See that you don't go dying in any ditches."

Yuri nodded and without another word, sprinted off.

"Wait for me!" Estellise cried over her shoulder. Quickly, she approached the bearded man again and bowed. "It was nice to meet you, sir."

"He'll probably be quite the pain in the neck," Hanks warned her, though the comforting look on his face proved otherwise. "You make sure to take care of yourself, now."

Beaming, Estellise thanked him and ran off to join the swordsman.

Now that that was over, the bearded man turned his back and finally released the breath he'd been holding in. "He's gonna be okay…" He said softly to no one. Raising his arm, he beckoned the community nearby to come forth to distract the incoming knight.

The little girl next to him did the same, though made sure to stand close to him and watch the spectacle.

On cue—the men, women, children, and the elderly appeared, increasing in numbers as they enclosed the knight in one spot.

Looking the other way, Hanks quietly observed a certain pair becoming swallowed up by the mass of people who slyly offered them materials and items for their journey outside the barrier. A few minutes later, and he saw them coming out of the chaos and this time, with Repede at their side.

Inhaling a deep breath, Hanks looked on as the trio left through the exit.

"Good luck, Yuri," He murmured lowly, producing a smile. "May Jiri and Lily watch over you."

Two weeks had gone and life in the Lower Quarter was back to its serene quietness.

As promised, a letter from Flynn arrived.

Eager to read his message, Hanks rushed off to the public inn and urged Marie and some of the children to come over. Through their encouraging smiles, he hastily tore off the envelope and threw his hand in to take the paper. His eyes slowly widened, his mouth dropping open as he realized what was in front of him.

It was a wanted poster of a poorly-made portrait of Yuri. Underneath the picture were the words, 'black, long hair and weird clothing. Last spotted at Lower Quarter, Zaphias. Bounty-5,000 Gald. Wanted: Dead or Alive.'

Marie gasped. "Oh my god!"

"It's Yuri!" Ted cried aloud, startled as well.

"W-what's gonna happen now to big brother Yuri?" One of the girls stammered as her tiny body quivered.

Unfazed by their comments, Hanks simply stared at the poster in his hands. "We knew that it would come to this," He muttered, bringing his hand over to his throbbing temple.

"So, what now?" Ted asked, gripping his hands tightly. "Is he gonna be sentenced for life?"

"It doesn't say anything that mentions that," The bearded man pointed out, his expression surprisingly nonchalant. "Still, we can't judge him too quickly. We need to hear his side of the story."

Since the wanted poster became publicized, the Lower Quarter became a laughing stock among the Middle and Noble Quarter.

Ted and some of the children from the orphanage became targeted by their peers who belonged from the other Quarters of the Capital City. In retaliation, some of the boys and girls initiated a brawl against their bullies to defend their big brother Yuri's name.

As a result, most of them were sent home with the Principal recommending that the children should not return until the tension was cleared.

But that wasn't the only problem.

Marie, the innkeeper started receiving severe criticisms by her guests in regards to her 'poor, untimely service.' When it was later revealed that the main cook of the inn was Yuri, the guests walked out from the building as they refused to be in a place where a criminal was renowned and respected by the people, further supporting this by calling the members of the Lower Quarter 'pigs' and 'street rats'.

What made it difficult was Flynn's absence. As he was not around to protect them from the harsh criticisms and discrimination, let alone represent them in front of the higher-ups in the government, the Lower Quarter faced severe repercussions.

In spite of this, Hanks and the community stood their ground—choosing to ignore them and refusing to accept Yuri's status as an outlaw.

The first day of May came and everything went downhill.

The barrier throughout Zaphias had vanished out of thin air.

The sky turned bloody red and a strange fog swept in, containing the air and making it difficult to breathe. Before they knew it, the entire area became overrun by overgrown plants—destroying houses and infrastructures in every direction.

With little to no options left, Hanks was forced to evacuate his people and instructed them to head to the Public Quarter. As expected, there was no one in sight and to their disbelief, was infested with monsters. Due to the lack of a barrier, the horrifying creatures entered and started wreaking havoc everywhere.

Just when things were about to get worse, a miracle followed…in the form of the Schwann Brigade.

Crossing his arms, Hanks shot them a glare. "What is it you want now?"

"We don't have time to argue!" LeBlanc raised his voice, his expression pensive and strict. "Hurry, we must go to the Palace! That's our last line of defense!"

"Hurry, I say!" Adecor joined in as he helped some of the elders walk up the staircase. "We cannot stay here for long!"

"Get every single person!" Boccos added, taking some of the injured children and rushing forward. "We must protect them!"

Hours later and they managed to get inside the Palace with the Schwann Brigade heading back outside to search for more survivors.

After wandering through the many corridors and atriums, Hanks found the cafeteria and ushered his people to go inside. Once everybody settled in, they fell to the floor in exhaustion. Marie and some of the women tended to the crying children while the able men assisted the elders to the nearby chairs.

Afterward, they were greeted with LeBlanc and his men who, too entered the cafeteria as well.

"Any survivors outside?" Hanks spoke up.

Chewing on his lower lip, LeBlanc shook his head. "The nobility and the Council left a long time ago. As for the Middle Quarter, some people are still trapped in their houses. Due to the number of monsters, I'm afraid we were unable to press on."

Frowning, Hanks threw in a question. "Why us?"

"We owe something to your son," Adecor stepped up, lowering his weapon. "Our Captain, Schwann Oltorain…he was saved by Yuri Lowell and his band of mischiefs."

"We are aware of the tension between all of you and our brigade," Boccos indicated, "But we hope to change it."

LeBlanc nodded in agreement. "We've been too dedicated with our duties, we realized that we had forgotten the main reason why we joined the knights in the first place." He explained further.

Right on cue, the trio inclined their heads forward and bowed.

"Now, now, let's not do that," Hanks began, approaching them. "We're on the same side now, aren't we?"

The senior knight peered up and blinked. Thinking it over, he nodded. "You're right." And smiled. "Thank you."

In response, the bearded man shook his head. "No, thank you," He expressed, collecting his hands together behind his back. "For stepping up and doing the right thing."

And for the next two days or so, the Schwann Brigade and the people of the Lower Quarter banded together under a common middle ground.

Everything seemed well until they heard footsteps heading their way.

"Stay here!" LeBlanc declared, unsheathing his blade and raising it forward. "Adecor, Boccos, and I would see what's outside!"

Riled up with energy, they threw open the doors and charged forward…only for their plan to fall apart as they ended up smacking themselves against the walls.

Worried, Hanks poked his head out to make sure that they were okay. His eyes widened. He couldn't believe it.

"Yuri?" He mouthed out, his voice cracking.

Hearing his foster father calling out to him, Yuri quickly whirled around to face him as he wore the same, baffling look like the latter.

"It's Yuri!" And quickened his pace to go outside.

Without a moment to lose, the bearded man ushered them inside the cafeteria to which they silently obliged.

Hanks smiled as he watched Yuri's face lit up upon noticing that every member of his community in the Lower Quarter was actually here.

"Hanks, everyone!" He cried, his voice noticeably high-pitched, "You're all okay!"

Fiddling with the frames of his glasses, Hanks looked up and chuckled. "Hey, that's my line!"

After months of separation, father and son were finally reunited. And with that, came the long, overdue explanation told through Yuri's account.

As he traveled alongside Estelle—a nickname that Yuri accidentally slipped that Hanks took notice of, and Repede, they met people:

Karol—boy aspiring to make his own guild, Rita—a genius mage who Yuri pointed out was not the one responsible for the fountain disruption, Judith—a mysterious Krityan who bears a close association with the Entelexeia, Raven—a double spy who has connections to the Imperial Knights and the Union from Dahngrest, and Patty—a self-proclaimed pirate with amnesia.

"We would often bump into Flynn and he'd join us from time to time," Yuri went on, leaning back on his chair as he looked at his empty plate with traces of curry still left. "Speaking of which, he's got his own brigade."

Hanks blinked once, then twice. "A brigade?" As he let the new information sink in, a smile appeared on his face. "My word, that boy is certainly going places."

"Anyway," Yuri drawled out, "He's leading a whole army of knights to ward off the monsters any time soon."

"That's excellent to hear," Hanks commented, chuckling a little. He then turned his sights to the people that made up his foster son's group. "Say, whatever happened to yer lady friend?"

Yuri opened his mouth to respond, only to pause midway and closed it.

Catching on to this, Hanks's wrinkly features softened. "You can tell me," He urged him in a gentle manner.

Swallowing thickly, Yuri nodded. "Actually, we're here because of her." He stated simply as he threw his hand inside his tunic and pulled out a pink flower accessory. Fingering the petals with his left hand, he tightened his other hand and shaped it into a fist. "Estelle's got this power inside her and Alexei took her to use it for himself."

"Then, why worry?" Hanks said to him, his eyes fixed on the memento as well. "You and the others are gonna save her, right?"

Silence filled the distance between them.

"Yuri?"

"…Hanks," Yuri began, followed by a tired sigh. "I'm not sure if you saw those wanted posters of me, but…my hands, they're stained in blood."

Hanks creased his eyebrows, trying to comprehend behind the meaning of his words.

"It began with the murder of Ragou—the magistrate of Capua Nor. The way how he abused his people and had monsters as pets to slaughter them...it was inhuman. We managed to get him locked up but in the end, he only had a slap in the wrist from the Council. I couldn't stand it…so, I—"

"You killed him." Hanks finished his sentence for him.

Yuri nodded in confirmation. "But that's only the tip of the iceberg. There was Cumore, an Imperial Knight corrupted with greed and like Ragou, abused his people for his own personal goals. And then, there was Don Whitehorse, who I had no choice but to partake in his slaughter…"

"He was innocent, the leader of Altosk, the Union—everyone looked up to him and I was impressed with how he carried himself. At that point, I began contemplating on what was gonna happen to me."

Sighing deeply, he added, "Flynn was aware of this and told me that if I kept pulling the same stunt—killing others and getting away with it, that he'd have no choice but to kill me."

An impish grin surfaced on his face. "I felt myself beginning to change. And I knew, that if there was one person who'd put me out of my misery, it would be him. I wanted him to end me right then and there." A pause. "But then…"

Interested, Hanks leaned a bit closer. "What is it?"

"Estelle heard everything. I assumed that she would tell the others…but she didn't. She refused to go with Flynn, knowing that if she continued to follow after me, she'll be tainted in blood too." Yuri cracked a smile.

"As naïve as she was, she knew what I was capable of, the killings that I've done and yet, she's persistent and refused to leave my side." Glancing up at the ceiling, he closed his eyes and began to recite the words she told him that night at Mantaic.

"You'd never do something like that without a reason. If you ever end up pointing your sword at me, I'm sure I will have done something to deserve it."

Hanks blinked. "She said that?"

Yuri nodded, his eyes downcast. "Estelle never committed any bloodshed and yet, she's entrusting me to kill her." He unconsciously gripped the flower memento in his hand.

"She's full of life, always curious about the world…everything about her is pure. And me? I'm here doing sinful exploits left and right, people are coming after me and wanting my head."

Fueled with anger, Yuri lifted his chin and stared at his foster father—his ebony eyes were vulnerable and open. And that was enough for Hanks to realize that his words were genuine and from the heart. "If there's anybody in this god damn world who deserves to live, it's Estelle. Not me."

Hanks lowered his head, bringing his hands together and tightening them.

With every situation his foster son put himself through, Hanks would find it to be relatable.

Be it getting bullied, discriminated by the nobility, or ignoring people's orders—he knew the advice to give to him because he's been through a similar way.

But here was a problem—a problem that was much bigger than both of them combined.

And it involved a person whom his foster son was quite fond of, and the only two options laid out for him was—kill her or be killed.

He looked up and focused in on the dark-haired man—dark bags under his eyes, his lips slightly chapped and his hands clamoring.

"…This is troubling you, isn't it?" Hanks spoke up after the long silence.

No response. Instead, Yuri chose to avoid eye contact.

Hanks sighed. "…I have faith in you, Yuri," He stated, gaining the latter's attention. "I don't have much guidance to provide you on this issue but all I can say is this,"

Facing his son again, he said, "If this girl means a lot to you, then do whatever it takes to save her."

And that's it for chapter 4!

Hello, everyone! This is Kroissant!

The title of this chapter is influenced by Yuri and Estelle's motifs—Yuri, the lone wolf and Estelle being that she is the Child of the Full Moon.

Coincidentally, there are urban myths that tell of wolves becoming attracting to the full moon. Scientists believe that this is purely out of coincidence but in the end, it's clear that they rely on one another. That being said, the title of the chapter is perfectly suited for this.

Unlike the previous chapters, I made this one much longer in order to keep the story to flow well. The good news is that there's not much scenes with Hanks but due to how few of them are on the internet, it was a big scavenger hunt!

But hey, it worked out well in the end so that's good!

This chapter in particular pained me as Hanks struggles to brush off the image of his foster son as a criminal. For the next one, (which I already have a set due date for—it'll be on February 9th which is a Saturday as it would give me some time to settle back into studies for a while before coming back). Also, the original plan was to end it with Yuri being angsty—the sentence when he says that Estelle deserves to live and not him. But then, it felt like something was lacking and so, I added in Hanks encouraging him to save her no matter what—so yay for that!

The next chapter is going to be a bit different—since this chapter centered around Hanks with Yuri, the next one is going to be Hanks and Estelle (and for a very good reason)

Anyway, I would like to say thank you all for your support!

I'm loving the comments so far and I hope I could see more! Thank you so much, they give me strength!

If you can, I recommend listening to this OST from Lincoln, John Williams and surprisingly, the name of the song is—Father and Son.

Okay, that's all for now!

Leave a comment (and kudos in the A03 community) if you can! I'm eager to hear your opinions and criticisms!

See you all on Saturday!