Kira was starting to worry about Derek. He spent every waking moment learning and practicing his hidden abilities. She was impressed at his dedication and persistence, but she knew that his body wouldn't be able to take much more. No matter how hard she tried to convince him to take a break, he was determined to keep trying. She did all she could to help him. "Derek, you really need to take a few days off," She insisted as she helped him out of bed one morning. "You're wearing yourself out."

"No," he shook his head. "I can't. I want to know all of this as quickly as possible."

"You're putting too much stress on your body. You need to rest, gather your strength. Then, the next time you try, you'll be even better," Kira replied gently. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."

"Fine," Derek sighed, lowering himself down onto the couch. "I'll take some time off."

"Good," Kira smiled, kissing the top of his head. "I have to go to the grocery store, I'll be back as soon as I can," she put a glass of water and a muffin down on the table beside Derek. She handed him the TV remote and pressed a kiss to his lips. "See you in a bit."

She got to the store and grabbed a cart. She was perusing the produce section when she heard a familiar voice. "Kira? Kira, is that you?"

"Dad?" Kira gasped, rooted to the floor in shock. "Wh…what are you doing here?" She hadn't let herself think about her parents since she'd arrived in Beacon Hills. She knew that she couldn't go back to check on them and, unless her dad had gotten back in time, her mother was probably dead. She couldn't think of any reason her dad would be here and she didn't really want to see him. If he hadn't run away, her mom would still be alive.

"When I got home, your mom… she was…" he cleared his throat. "I had a feeling you'd come here, and I needed to make sure you were safe. I'm so happy," he moved in to hug her, but Kira blocked him.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. "Mom is dead because of you. As far as I'm concerned, you're dead too." Kira spun on her heel and stormed off, ignoring her dad's calls as she walked away. She grabbed the rest of the groceries that she needed and quickly drove home.

When she got inside the apartment and slammed the door shut, causing Derek to jump. "Are you okay?" he asked, pushing himself up off the couch. "What's wrong?" he insisted as she put the groceries away angrily. "Hey, come here," he murmured, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him.

She collapsed against his chest, unable to hold back the hot tears stinging her eyes any longer. She sobbed uncontrollably into his t-shirt. Derek had his arms wrapped around her, holding her up. He gently led her to the couch and they both sat down. "Sorry," Kira croaked, wiping her eyes. "I just… my dad is here… my mom is… she's dead because of him," she sputtered before she broke down again. Derek didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say would make her feel better, he just held her close and rubbed her back.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Derek offered, struggling to his feet. When he opened the door, Scott, Allison, and Stiles were on the other side. Before he knew what was happening, they had pushed their way in. "Guys, this really isn't a good time," he insisted. "Why are you even here?"

"You invited us over for a game night last week," Scott reminded him. "And Kira said she was going to make her top-secret chocolate chip cookie recipe."

"I think we're going to have to re…" Derek started.

"It's okay, Derek," Kira called feebly from the couch. "Let them in."

"Okay," Derek stepped to the side and made a sweeping motion with his arm, "come on in. Take a seat at the table, I'll be right there." He walked to the couch and sat down facing Kira. "You don't have to do this today," he whispered.

"No, I want to. It'll be a nice distraction," Kira sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Can you tell that I've been crying?" she smirked, knowing that her eyes were red and puffy.

"You look beautiful," Derek murmured before leaning in and gently kissing her lips. He grinned at her when he pulled away, "We should go entertain our company."

"I'm just going to go fix my make up," Kira said, standing up and walking to the bathroom. There was another knock on the door before Lydia, Malia, and Isaac entered the apartment.

"Did you guys eat supper?" Derek asked while the newcomers sat down at the table. None of them had, so he decided to just order some pizzas.

"So Kira, where are your special chocolate chip cookies?" Stiles hinted when Kira came out of the bathroom.

"I, uh, I haven't made them yet," Kira replied. "This way you get them fresh out of the oven." She went to the kitchen and started making them. She tried not to think about her parents when she was making them, but she got about halfway through before she caved and broke down crying on the floor. She was feeling so many different emotions: she was angry at her dad, heartbroken about her mom, stressed about the wedding, worried about Derek, she just couldn't deal with everything all at once.

"Kira? Are you okay?" Allison called, craning her neck to see her.

"Yeah," Kira cleared her throat. "I just dropped something." She sniffed and wiped the tears off her face before she stood up and continued mixing the dough. She looked up at Derek when she felt him watching her and shot him a terse smile. She tried to focus on the chatter around the table while she put the first pans into the oven. She needed something to distract her. While the cookies baked, she started to wash the dishes.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Derek whispered from behind her as he snaked his arms around her waist. He gently kissed her neck. "I can ask them to leave if you want."

"I can handle it," Kira mumbled, leaning her head back against Derek's shoulder. "It's just… thinking about my mom…" she could feel tears welling in her eyes, "I don't want to believe it, but I know it's true." Derek tightened his arms around her.

"I'm right here for you," Derek assured her. "Just let me know when you want them to leave." He pressed another kiss to her shoulder before he went back to the table.

Once all of the cookies had finished baking, Kira went and took a seat next to Derek at the table. She wrapped her hand around his arm and rested her head against his bicep. She felt guilty, she knew she wasn't going to be much fun tonight. She wasn't in the mood to play games, but she was happy to watch. From the looks of it, the game they were playing involved randomly flipping over cards.

Kira nearly fell asleep a few times, but she was always jolted awake by someone laughing or poking her side. After the third time, she gave Derek a look and he knew that she was ready for everyone to go home. She said goodbye to everyone, and when Derek was ushering them out the door, she heard someone ask what was wrong with her and Derek responding that she was going through some "personal stuff." Kira appreciated how accommodating Derek was, even though she knew that he was about as exhausted as she was.

She still felt like she could burst into tears at any moment, so she crawled into bed and curled herself into a ball facing toward the wall. Derek got into bed with her and held her close to him. Kira rolled over and pressed her face into his chest. She couldn't hold the tears back anymore. It hurt him to see her like this and he wished that he could do something to help her. He listened to her ragged breathing until it evened out and he knew that she was asleep.

The next morning, Derek woke up before Kira for the first time since he'd started practicing his abilities. He lay beside her, watching her sleep until her eyes fluttered open. "Morning," Derek smiled when their eyes met.

"Good morning," Kira murmured. When Derek started to get up, she grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her. "Just a little longer," she said, snuggling into his chest.

Derek pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We can stay here however long you want," he mumbled into her hair. He closed his eyes and held her close. They both fell asleep for a little while. The next time he opened his eyes, Kira was in the kitchen making pancakes. He eased himself out of bed and walked over to give Kira a light kiss on the cheek. "So, what do you want to do today?" he asked as they ate breakfast.

"Well, I have a fitting for my dress, but other than that I have no plans," Kira answered. "You're coming with me, right?"

"To the fitting? I thought it was bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding," Derek replied. "But sure, I'd love to."

"Well, we're not exactly traditional," she laughed. "Or human. Lydia's going to be there too. Maybe you and I could go out for lunch or something afterwards."

Derek agreed and once they'd both finished eating and showering, they went to meet Lydia at the bridal shop. Lydia had been hesitant about Derek seeing the dress, but Kira had insisted. His jaw dropped when he saw Kira walk out of the fitting room. She looked breathtaking. The dress was lacy and knee-length with layers of tulle. "Kira," Lydia gasped, "you look beautiful."

"Thanks," Kira grinned and twirled around. "Derek?"

"I… y…you look absolutely stunning," he sputtered. He couldn't stop himself from rushing over to her and passionately pressing their lips together. He pulled away when Lydia cleared her throat.

"I'm really happy for you," Lydia told him when Kira went back into the fitting room. "You're really good together."

"Thanks," Derek nodded. "It was a little unexpected, but she makes me better." When Kira came out of the fitting room again, they said goodbye to Lydia and put the dress in the trunk. "So, I was thinking, if you wanted, we could go to that restaurant that just opened and then we could go to the aquarium or something," Derek suggested as he started the car.

"Sure, that sounds great," Kira responded. When they got out of the car at the restaurant, Kira grabbed Derek and hid behind him. "My dad's right there," She whispered. "The man in blue." Her dad was walking towards them on the sidewalk.

"Here, come on," Derek ushered her into the restaurant, angling his body so Mr. Yukimura couldn't see her. They took a seat as far away from the windows as possible. "Are you okay?" he asked, holding her hand across the table.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just really don't want to talk to him today," Kira explained. "I feel bad for ignoring him and being mad at him, but I don't think I'll be able to forgive him for what he did."

"You're allowed to be mad at him, Kira," he assured her. He was about to say something else when his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Derek. Where are you?" It was Scott.

"I'm out for lunch with Kira, why?" Derek responded.

"I really need to talk to you. Both of you," Scott insisted. "Come over as soon as you can."

"What's this about? Why can't you just tell me over the phone?" Derek asked.

"Just come. Soon," Scott said before hanging up.

"Scott wants to talk to us," Derek told Kira as he put his phone back in his pocket. "He didn't say why." It didn't take long for them to eat their lunch and get to Scott's house. When they walked in, Scott, Allison, Lydia, and Stiles were sitting solemnly at the table. "What's going on?" Derek wanted to know, searching their faces for clues.

"Just take a seat," Scott demanded. Kira and Derek exchanged confused glances before they slowly sat down across from the others. They waited expectantly for Scott to continue. "I need to know what's going on. You've both been acting strange lately and this morning I saw a man asking people if they knew where he could find Kira. I'm just a little concerned."

Kira looked at Derek, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. She didn't know what to tell them. She couldn't tell them the whole story, but she had to say something. She took a deep breath. "The real reason I came to Beacon Hills was because I was no longer safe where I was. Because of my parents' 'career,' they've made a lot of powerful enemies. A group of them had captured us and my dad escaped. Our captors said that if my dad wasn't back within 24 hours, they were going to kill me and my mom. She, uh… she helped me escape and told me not to come back, so I came here. The man asking about me is my dad. I saw him yesterday and he confirmed that my mom…" her voice broke. Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulder for support. "My dad wants me to act like everything's okay, but I can't. I don't want to see him. It's his fault that my mom's dead," She didn't care about the tears streaming down her face.

Allison walked around the table and gave Kira a warm hug. "Do you want us to tell him to leave?" She offered. "We'll help you in any way we can."

"We can make sure he doesn't get to you again," Scott squeezed her hand gently and gave her a compassionate smile.

"I don't know," Kira sniffed. "I'll talk to him and tell him to leave, but would you guys come with as moral support?"

"Definitely," Scott nodded. "We'll do whatever we can."

Kira asked if they'd help her find him so they could do it today. She wasn't looking forward to talking to her dad again, but it would be easier with other people there for support. They found him sitting on a bench in the park. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but she felt more confident with Derek and Scott in front of her, Allison and Lydia each held one of her hands, and Stiles was right behind her. "Dad?" Kira called. He stood up and turned around.

"Kira. I've been looking for you, I just…." He started, but Kira cut him off.

"You have to leave," she stated coldly. "I don't want to see you again." Allison squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"But Kira…" He took a few steps toward her but Derek stopped him by putting a hand on his chest.

"Don't," Derek growled. "She said she wanted you to leave," he took a step closer to Mr. Yukimura, "so you'd better go. I don't want to see you around here again," he threatened. Kira's dad stared at him, wide-eyed.

"I'm sorry, Kira," her dad choked out before turning and walking away.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked, putting his hand gently on Kira's shoulder. She nodded and did her best to muster a smile. "Why don't we all go back to my place and watch a movie or something?"

They decided to watch a comedy that none of them had seen before. Kira leaned against Derek, resting her head against his chest. Derek's presence relaxed her, she loved being able to hear the steady beating of his heart and feeling the even rise and fall of his chest. A smile spread across her face when he pressed his lips against her temple.

"So," Derek started when they got home, "about the story you told them about your family…"

"The only part that wasn't true was the reason why they captured us in the first place," Kira supplied. "They were hunters. They knew that my mom wasn't human, but they didn't know what a kitsune is. They had no clue about me and that's how my mom wanted to keep it, that's why she told me to run."

"Do you think the hunters will try to find you?" Derek sat down beside her.

"I don't know," Kira answered. "But if my dad could find me, I'm sure that professional hunters will be able to."

"Well, I'll be here to protect you if they do come," He put his hand on her knee. "I won't let them get anywhere near you… Kira, I… I love you."

"I love you, too," Kira murmured, pulling Derek close and pressing their lips together.