(OC is mine)

Michiru

I can't believe we did it! All this time, mine, and my best friend's blood were the cure to the Syndrome! It didn't even take more than a day to get the antiserum distributed, and now nobody will go on a rampage if they even remotely get stressed!

Well, at least most people, the slums still need work, but still!

And to think this all started because me and her got in a freak accident...

What are we, superheroes?

I mean, we got the tragic backstory, had our journey, and our revelations that made us better all the while. What's not to like?

I got introduced to a world that was beyond anything I've seen in my life, I don't think anything can get better than the prospect of defending it.

"Michiru, you coming?" My friend asks, I'm lagging right now.

"Yeah, Nazuna, wait for me!" I say, flapping my wings harder.

As an enhanced Beastman, we have limited shape shifting powers that grant us enhanced strength, speed, agility, senses, and even minor disguises depending on the forms we take.

Even with me being a Tanuki and Nazuna a fox, it only ever slightly varies between us.

Our flight capabilities take the forms of wings that I flap with my arms, and hers are on her back reminiscent of an Angel.

Yeah, we're flying right now if it isn't already obvious.

I mean, with my gorilla arms I can throw, punch, and swing like never before. I can even take hits I normally wouldn't have been able to survive otherwise. Only problem is that it makes anyone who uses it look grossly disproportionate. It may be weird, but it works.

I've grown quite fond of my beast form, because as I've said before, since I became a Beastman, I've basically become a superhero at this point.

I think Nazuna would agree too.

"So, what do you plan on doing now that you've saved the Beastman world?" My best friend asks.

"Hey, WE saved it. Don't leave yourself or Shirou out of this or even our friends. We all had a part to play." I say to her.

"Okay, basketball girl, with the play of the century. Totally not outshining us." She sarcastically says, but we both smile.

"Regardless, we still wouldn't have been able to do it without you. So, for that..."

Being besties, we can basically read each other's minds.

"LET'S CELEBRATE!" We both exclaim as we barrel roll around each other briefly.

"So what do you wanna do? Animacity is pretty big, there's plenty of options." Nazuna says, scanning the town.

"Hmm..." I say, thinking. "Not sure, honestly. Maybe Kim and Kuro's? I've been there before, their stuff is pretty good, and-"

"What the...?" Nazuna asks, her head is faced upwards.

"Nazuna? What're you...looking...at...?" I ask, following her gaze...

To the sky.

"Was it supposed to be cloudy today?" Nazuna asks.

"The forecast said it wasn't supposed to rain until next week..." I reply.

"Maybe we should get to the-"

"Why are they moving? The clouds? Why are they moving like that?" I unintentionally interrupt my friend.

Indeed, the clouds are suddenly moving, as if they were doing so in line with us. Except they're centered over Town Square.

Almost as if the Eye of a storm was forming...

"That's weir-"

CRACK!!!

Out of nowhere, a flash before my eyes, interrupting my friend and making our fur stand on end.

"HOLY-!"

"WHAT THE-!"

Lightning, everywhere in the dark sky, lighting up the now dimly lit city that was once bustling merely moments ago.

"Since when did it get so dark?!" I exclaim.

"This just came out of left field!" Nazuna adds, shaken.

All of it striking the center of the storm.

Where did this come from?! Why is it so sudden?!

Soon, an unrelenting force of wind, seemingly coming from the center, begins to fly up against us.

It throws us off balance, threatening to make us fall.

"Gah!"

"Get to the ground!" I order my friend as we begin to nose-dive to the ground as fast as possible.

"WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY THAT!" She exclaims as she follows.

As the wind from both our flying and the wind from the storm clashes against us, we manage to make it to the ground in an alleyway on Town Square, using our wings to break our fall at the last moment, but another gust of wind ruins our landing, lashing us to the side as we roll to a stop, retracting our wings when we do.

"Guh..." I utter as I try to get myself up. "You good?"

"I've had worse." She assures me.

We help each other up as we brush ourselves off, soon having our fur stand on end again at yet another lightning strike.

The air even gets slightly thinner, colder, and almost hard to breathe.

"WHAT IN GINROU'S NAME IS THIS?!" A civilian screams.

"HOLD ME!" Her friend exclaims, he holds her.

"Michiru, what's even going on?" My friend asks me.

"I...don't know...I've never seen anything like this before." I admit, walking out to peek at the center of the storm again. I turn back to her. "Where's Shirou when you need him?"

"Probably wondering the same about either us or whatever's going on up there." She replies.

"Or maybe he's up on the rooftops right now." I say, pointing upwards.

Indeed, our wolfman friend is standing steadfast against the ever-powerful winds and lightning, having likely seen things like this...

But not on this caliber.

I whip out my phone and dial him, he manages to pick up.

"You seeing this?"

"Yeah."

"Any thousand-year knowledge you'd like to bestow upon us?"

"Never seen this before...brace yourselves, in case anything else happens."

"Keep us posted."

"If you do the same."

"Got it."

I hang up and I turn back to the storm.

"This better not lead to anything..." Nazuna says, shaking her head.

In the next few seconds that feel like an eternity, nothing but continuous lightning, wind, and shaking of the ground.

The clouds are circling more so than before to the center, and suddenly...

"Wait, something's happening..." I say, noticing something.

Out of nowhere, what can only be described as a barely noticeable black void forms in the eye of the storm, sounding reminiscent of dark magic that echoes throughout the city. The sight in it of itself is more mysterious than anything I've seen in the past 2 years.

Soon, the dark around the blackness turns ever so lighter, looking almost like a true 'eye' of the storm.

Could that be...

"Would I be wrong in suspecting that's a portal?" Nazuna asks.

I hear a shout from Shirou, that seems to echo through the entire city.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!"

THAT'S ONE WAY YOU KEEP PEOPLE POSTED!

As if on cue...and the second that we do...

Nazuna's suspicion is confirmed when out of the endless dark void, as the maelstrom of shaking and lightning intensifies...

There's a light.

The following explosion somehow makes my non-existent Hiroshima and Nagasaki PTSD kick in. I nearly have to shield my eyes from the sheer brightness of the white light, with black among it? It all exists alone until the sound hits.

I guarantee you that you could hear the screeching sound of the explosion from the mainland, possibly even farther.

I choose bracing myself, as does Nazuna and Shirou, on the nearby buildings from the sheer kinetic energy this force emits. The experience nearly deafens me and possibly everyone else around us.

The sound of which shatters nearly every window in the immediate area, creating a deadly rain of crystallized shards. We cover our eyes to not get them sliced open from the stray shards that make their way past the alley.

Though Shirou likely had more difficulty because he was still on the rooftops.

He's not there right now...

I hope he's okay...

"Is...that...?"

A shooting star?

A meteor?

It's falling...

As I look up, I see that the void is gone, light piercing through the clouds and allowing a little bit of sunlight to pass through. Almost as if a spotlight has been formed for what came through that...whatever it was...

The pillar of light continues, as if signaling, the arrival...

All that's left is something, looking like a person, enveloped in a white glow, falling in the sunlight, almost from grace, the light emitting from it fades as it descends. We watch as the being continues to descend, and lands surprisingly quietly only a short distance in front of us.

When Nazuna and I peek out from the alleyway to get a good look at...

One...

In the shape of a human, kneeling as if it landed Terminator-style from the future.

The most distinctive features when we look closer are the white armor with almost feather-like grooves on it, and a mask.

In addition, the being is utilizing 2 swords.

An exceedingly long Odachi, and a double ended golden broadsword in the other (as if 2 swords were welded/merged together at the base of the hilts).

The being rises from its kneeling position and seems to take in the sights around it.

We hear faint footsteps behind us.

It's Shirou.

He's made his way over here to regroup with us.

I look at him with a "THAT?!" look.

He only shakes his head in denial, not knowing who or what this thing is.

"Seriously?!" I whisper to him.

He nods.

"I thought you knew everything!" Nazuna whisper-yells at him.

"I don't, okay!" He replies, starting to lose patience.

"Well, apparently, you-uh..." I try to reply again...but...

I feel an unusual presence, as do Nazuna and Shirou.

We turn to see...

IT

Staring at us...

We're frozen in place, not knowing what to do with this seemingly otherworldly being who eyes us up.

Those swords aren't doing any favors!

It walks closer, holding the double ended sword vertically while keeping the longer one pointed away from us. It circles around us, looking at us closer.

I almost hear breathing underneath that mask...

Instead of doing anything to us, it just walks away, much to our relief, looking around for anyone or anything else.

It takes in the sights, again, and glides its hand across the different structures, seemingly also trying to make sense of it. Successfully, as it looks like.

It sets the long sword down and picks up some dust that was kicked up from its entrance, and lets it pass through its hands, soon picking up the weapon once more.

The civilians who were hiding from the earthquake/storm peek out, and the being seemingly notices them, only making them pop right back in.

It walks over to them in a trying-to-not-be-threatening-manner, and only observes them, making Shirou almost prepare to lunge out and attack it, not even caring what it is.

Instead, what it does is that it notices some people who are stuck in little rubble-blocked areas. It stabs its swords into the ground and lifts up the rubble using its strength, allowing anyone stuck to escape.

The civilians, despite not knowing what it is, thank it, and they run off.

It nods its head in either 'you're welcome', or 'I apologize'.

It continues to do so to anyone else that might need help, as we manage to gain the courage to walk out and observe it more intently.

It's only about an inch or so shorter than Shirou right now, and when it goes back to its swords, and pulls them from the ground, we back off slightly.

We make 'eye' contact with it, barely managing to see what's behind that white and gold mask that blurs the lines if this being is a robot or a living person.

It looks to the left, and then the right, and after looking like it's done what it's come to do...

What it does next...

Throws me, Nazuna, Shirou, and any remaining civilians for the biggest loop today.

The rubble around it vibrates, it places the long sword behind its back, and puts the double ended sword in the same area.

And as the intensity of the force emanating from the being increases, pushing up against us like wind, and when the rubble is now off the ground...

It, too, is levitating.

Like a man of steel, it rises.

Before we even have time to process it further, it takes off towards the buildings, running up them and reaching the top.

When Shirou runs up the building to follow, as do Nazuna and I when we activate our wings, we just about find it parkouring and leaping in giant bounds across the concrete jungle, heading to the abandoned areas of the city.

As we're now left alone, we're left alone with our thoughts, and the newly engraved memory in our minds of what's just happened...

Damn...

We just recently stopped a Beastman genocide Alan Sylvasta tried to initiate...and now this...?

Whatever this thing is...

It's here for a reason.

???

Nobody's here, and this entrance to a cave system...

Hmm...good space, secluded...

Perfect for refuge, as well as a base of operations.

I jump into the entrance, falling to the ground and make my way through the dimly lit areas.

As I leap high and descend slowly, I glide through the vast network of underground tunnels.

I eventually emerge into a significantly larger section with an underground lake, smooth ground, and I think there's even an exit at the top.

This will do.

I grab the swords off my back and place them on a rock, soon I go to lay down, staring at the two swords that signify everything that's happened in the last hour.

This was not supposed to happen...

I wasn't supposed to end up here.

I didn't expect HE would let go...

And all because I was sent to get answers.

For my friend...

But regardless, even if I was sent here against my will...

Because I AM here, I now have a job to do.

Michiru, 30 minutes later

"Say what now?" Mayor Barbara Rose asks. "A white-armored being?"

After the whole incident with the creature, Mayor Rose called Shirou to her office. Me and Nazuna came along as well because we're not sure on what's going on either.

Rose herself has a tan complexion, bald head with forehead wrinkles, red eyes, pointy ears, and a pointy chin. She wears a dark brown tunic, matching boots, and carries a silver cane with a red end.

We were planning on going to eat something to celebrate our victory, and I knew that a new door would open eventually for us...

But I never would've seen the new door opening THIS quickly.

We can't even get a break...

"Saw it with my own eyes. The girls can vouch for me." Shirou says, gesturing to us.

"He's telling the truth, Mayor Rose." I say.

"We were there. It was unlike anything we've ever seen before." Nazuna adds.

"I'm pretty sure the thing could fly without any wings." I add.

Barbara only sighs, trying to think about what's going on.

"And we just got done dealing with Alan..." She utters.

"I doubt he has anything to do with this." Shirou says.

"Is he locked up already?" I asks.

"Yes, we're currently processing him, but his second-in-command Boris Cliff is already on his way to prison." She explains.

"Why do I feel like Murphy's Law is going to take effect soon?" Nazuna mutters to herself.

"Unless they have some backup plan to escape, they won't be going anywhere for the time being." The authoritative figure in front of us assures us.

"I know...but still..." Nazuna insists.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Though honestly, I hope we don't have to..." Mayor Rose looks down to her desk.

Alan...was an absolute nightmare to take down...

His plan to eradicate the Beastmen was so elaborate he even managed to fool Mayor Rose into his schemes. Shirou and I managed to beat him, but the mess he left...

This new sword-wielding creature is too much of a wrench in the gears to deal with right now...

Society here is still shook...and we can't afford any new problems...

Especially with us preparing to open up to the public to try and salvage foreign relations...

"Shirou...I know you have just helped save Beastman-kind as we know it. For that, as well as to you girls, Michiru, Nazuna, I am eternally grateful for your efforts." Mayor Rose bows her head in thanks.

"Means a lot." I say.

"But Shirou, we don't know who or what this being might cause. Nor do we know its intentions, and as far as I'm concerned, you're the best fighter we have." She says, Shirou only listens intently.

Rose sighs.

"It is with this that I need you to make contact with this creature. Find out everything you can about it. If it winds up attacking you, you have authority to engage. I know you're capable of handling yourself, but even I know this is much to ask of you." Rose admits.

"I am aware. But regardless, it must be done." Shirou says while steadfast.

"Report back to me when you can." Rose says, Shirou nods.

"Ms. Mayor?" I ask, shooting up my hand.

"Yes, Ms. Kagemori?" She asks.

My full name is Michiru Kagemori if you didn't know that.

"I wish to go with him. This place is my home, and if there's a threat to it, and the people within, I won't stand idly by doing nothing." I say.

She nods.

"If that is what you wish. You DID aid in Alan's defeat, so I trust your capabilities." She says.

"I want to go along too. I hurt this city, and I'll be damned before I let anyone else do it." Nazuna interjects.

"I don't want the creature to think we're trying to kill it just yet..." Rose ponders about this for a moment.

She IS right in this department.

If too many people are sent to meet a stranger, the wrong idea might be instigated before anything.

Nevertheless, Mayor Rose relents.

"Okay, Ms. Hiwatashi. You will go as well." She nods.

"Thank you, Ms. Mayor." Nazuna bows.

"I'll get started on foreign relations. If we're to not make any more mistakes our ancestors did, we need to open up to the public soon." Rose says.

"We'll need some divine intervention if we're going to make that work." Shirou quips.

"I hope to hear from you soon. Mr. Ogami..." She says, pulling some paper from the other side of her desk and getting to work on it.

Soon, the room is without us, and we begin our journey to where we saw the creature go.

As we leave the tower known as Town Hall, the September breeze instantly hits us, and compared to not an hour earlier, it's gentle this time. Crisp, relaxing, even...

Even though whatever we're going to encounter could very well wipe us out in an instant...

Somehow, we don't have anything to talk about, so I just end up pulling out my phone to see what's up on Facelook super quickly.

At this point, could very well be some good reflecting if I somehow get snapped out of existence...

Everyone's posting about getting the antiserum and being immune to Nirvasyl. Overall good news going on. I can live with that.

Hey, Nina Flip's finally hanging out with her dad again. Good for her, they need their time together. Jackie is training with the other Bears to get better at baseball. I still team up with them every now and then, but let's face it, I'm a basketball girl all the way. Wait, Marie's posting now? Hey, she opened a shop that sells promotional items featuring Nazuna. I guess that's her way of getting paid for helping my friend.

I still can't believe we did all this good in our lives. When we were in high school, I wanted to be a professional basketball player and Nazuna wanted to become an idol. I guess she got something close to her goal in the end.

We both, however, found a transcendent purpose in life. To serve not just ourselves, but others as well. That is a goal that is fulfilling to the end of days, and I love that.

"Hey, Michiru?" Nazuna asks.

"Yeah?" I reply.

"I've been wondering..." She says.

"What?" I ask, doing the same.

"I know that we defeated Alan, stopped Nirvasyl and the Cult...but something I haven't been able to shake from my mind is...What's Next?" She asks, looking into my eyes.

What?

"Huh?" I ask, confused. "Where's this coming from?"

"I mean, we've essentially stopped 3 threats, and now we have the responsibility of protecting the city alongside Shirou. What if there's something, or someone else, that would want to destroy Animacity or another Alan shows up? This new other world guy or thing? Our whole perception of reality came down after the accident, and now it feels like anything can happen." She says, concerned. "I mean, look at what happened not even a day after our last adventure. Call it pessimistic thinking, though we literally scored a victory, I can't stop thinking about it no matter how hard I try."

"Then we'll be here to stop them. We always will be." I say with my optimistic smile.

"I know, but what if they're stronger? What if we can't stop them? What if this 'thing' is exactly one of them?"

"We'll find a way, Nazuna, we always do." I say, still retaining my look. "If you'd be on board, we could find a way to prepare for it."

"Maybe." She says. "But how would we do that? Like, what specifically would we do?"

Okay, my optimism can only go so far on its own...

"Might need some time to think about that." I say, unsure.

"Yeah, I'll do the same." She says.

"You know, Shirou's older than both of us, and he's certainly a force to be reckoned with, considering he knows what he's doing when he fights. Why not have him teach us a few moves?" I suggest, elbowing our wolfman friend a little, who rolls his eyes.

"That could be good. I've seen him in action. He definitely put Alan in his place." She says, smiling at our friend's accomplishment. "Karate Kid's got nothing on you."

He just gives the 'Oh, I'm so flattered' look.

We both chuckle at the admittedly recent past.

The silence that follows makes me indecisive as to whether it makes the atmosphere awkward, sour, or just serene.

Something I do decide on, however, is me breaking this silence.

"Do you sometimes feel like someone's always watching over you, no matter what?" I ask.

"I literally have all the voices of Nirvasyl talking to me in my head, Michiru. They're literally ALWAYS watching me." Shirou says.

My friend and I debate on whether or not we should laugh at that, considering Shirou's past.

"Okay, yeah, Shirou, you have that. But, even then, whether it be you feel that your ancestors are, or even just someone who's looking out for you, only wanting the best for you, do you ever feel that way?"

"Why do you ask?" Nazuna asks, the concern radiating off her.

"It's just...I was so shocked to see you were alive. Before I saw you at the concert I thought I was alone in this world. I thought you...my best and only friend...had died." I say, my heart slightly open right now. "I was alone for a whole year, being chased, hunted, persecuted, by those Beastman hunters. I never got any even remotely positive reinforcement until Marie brought me here, and even then, she was a hustler. Not trying to crap on her now, just that was my first impression of her, she pulled out in the end, as I saw. So, I respect her for that."

"Apparently, I still owe her some cash after she saved me from Alan. Even after I helped her open up her small business." She says.

"You might want to pay it off soon, I think she charges interest." I joke with her, we both laugh. "So, long story short, I never thought I'd see anyone I cared about again. I feared you died, but I always held on to the hope that there was even remotely a chance you survived. The idea that you, or even if someone I've never met before, or yet, was looking out for or was ready to be there for me...is what kept me strong." I reveal to her.

She smiles and bows her head with thanks and loving friendship.

"Thank you, Michiru. I was overjoyed even when I saw you in the crowd, just being your cheery self. You never changed even with our whole worlds turning upside down, you never did. You're such a positive person and I love that you are. And it's that philosophy of hope that really gets to me." My friend admits.

I instantly know what she's talking about.

"Hope is what makes us strong, it is why we are here. It is what we fight with when all else is lost." We both say, almost symbolically...

It's a Greek saying, we learned it in our social studies classes back in high school. It was one of the few things I still remember and it's a belief I strongly hold.

"Hold onto it, girls. It will get you through your darkest times." Shirou says to us. "I know for a fact that it works..."

Guy's lived for over a thousand years...it'd make sense he learned that...

"Okay." We both say.

I stretch my arms over my head as the cool breeze brushes up against me.

We're getting closer to the abandoned part of the city where the creature went.

"Almost there." Shirou says.

"Don't know if I should be terrified or elated." I reply.

"Well you'll have to decide, because we're making contact soon."

"Would've been at Kim and Kuro's if this didn't happen." I utter.

"I've met Mrs. Kim before, she's a nice lady." Nazuna says.

"Oh, for sure. Unlike Gram Grandma..." I say, still angry at that lady who TRAFFICKED KIDS.

"Didn't you say she was part of the mafia?" Nazuna asks.

"She was affiliated with The Family." I say. "But I think it was because of alternate issues she said that she 'had' to sell those kids. I honestly did not care for it, how she felt didn't justify what she did."

"You can't put a price on life." Nazuna says. "I met one of those kids right before Shirou fought Alan. Youta, I think his name was. He was just too sweet..."

"Yeah, it's why I was all the more satisfied when Gram Grandma was put away." I say.

"Things like that severely shook my faith in Beastman-kind when I learned of it." Nazuna says.

"Ugh, you should've seen my reaction when I was there." I say, exasperated at the experience.

Shirou doesn't look at me, due to him knowing it's still somewhat of a sensitive subject between us.

"Well, she's in prison now. That's what matters." Shirou assures me.

"At least." I say.

"We're here." Shirou says.

We stop in front of the crumbling abandoned district of the city, looking exactly how you'd imagine it to be.

Empty.

Not even a bird or stirring creature in sight.

Why the creature came here, I don't know.

"So how do we find it?" Nazuna asks.

Shirou looks to her, tapping his currently-wolf nose, and closes his eyes, releasing gentle sniffing sounds as he does.

"What's he doing?" Nazuna asks.

"It's his tracking ability. He can find where anyone is based on their scents. At one point he was even able to read my mind from it. Not sure how, but I can't really question it." I say, whispering the second half.

"I got the scent when it came up to us. It definitely smelled foreign..."

The silence accompanied by Shirou's sniffing continues, trying to find the foreign scent.

Shirou's Mind

When I perform this technique, it's like a radar that tracks the scent trails, of which my perception can follow.

The scent goes from a good distance in the sky, towards the beach line, and past a cliff-no...IN it.

A cave?

There's never been much incentive to come here, so it'd make sense I'd never see this...

It's massive...

My sight goes into the darkness, the kind you'd be flying through in your nightmares, the echoes of water dripping saturates my ears.

Eventually, I wind up in an especially spacious part of this vast system of caves that I never even knew were here.

Been here for so long, already hate that fact...

Soon, the scent gets stronger, and the source of which is centered on an elevated position.

Suddenly, when I focus on it closer to try and make out the shape...

The head turns to me

Michiru

"GUH! WHAT THE-?!" Shirou's eyes shoot open, almost as if he were spooked, jumpscared, even.

I've never seen him this scared since he bit me...

"What happened?" I ask concerningly.

"Did you find it?" Nazuna looks at me, sharing the same look.

"Yeah...but...it...noticed...me...it SAW me..." He utters.

Wait...what?!

"How can someone see you when you're finding a scent?" I ask.

"How does that even make sense?" Nazuna asks, her eyes widening in confusion.

I know I wasn't supposed to laugh at that...but I tried not to...yet failed miserably...

Shirou looks at me in annoyance, then only shakes his head in disbelief.

"Whatever this thing is...if it can notice me when I'm tracking it...I hate to find out what else it's capable of..." Shirou utters.

He points to the shoreline, past a cliffside.

"That's the way."

When we make our way through the decaying district and walk across the sand.

It doesn't take long until find ourselves in front of a sizeable cave.

Why a cave?

Sounds more like a caped crusader trope than anything.

"Cave or no cave, we have a job to do." Shirou says, taking point and leading us in. "Fate waits for no one."

Hesitantly, even though we volunteered, Nazuna and I follow him.

The sounds of our footsteps on the sand are now replaced with our shoes walking on rock, and the atmosphere gets slightly more humid.

As we walk in the relative darkness, something comes to mind.

"So, what should we say, or do, if we find this creature?" I ask.

"Maybe the classic 'Greetings'?" Nazuna suggests.

"I'll be the one to initiate the conversation. If negotiations go south, and if we must, we fight." Shirou says.

"Not keen on finding out those 'other things' this creature can do. We don't even know if it speaks our language." I retort.

"Well, I guess we'll know...when we talk to it." Shirou looks back to me.

Soon, following Shirou's lead, and even illuminating the place with our phone flashlights, we emerge into a much more open area within these damp caves.

There's darker areas above, ledges, platform-like rock formations...

Swords.

In front of us, embedded in rock, are the two swords that the being was holding.

Almost like King Arthur and Japan had a weird and twisted child.

We walk up to the swords in the stone, not daring to even remotely touch them out of concern for what the immediate consequences would be.

"This is the place." Shirou says, looking around.

"You're sure?" I ask him.

"You didn't see what I saw. This is the exact place it was in." He replies.

Nazuna and I are left in silence, observing the place around us to find any activity.

Nothing.

Just the absence of noise and the ominous feeling or paranoia that we might be watched right now.

I take point this time.

"HELLO?!" I call out, causing Nazuna to jump and Shirou to look at me.

I just shrug my shoulders in unsureness that this might as well be the first way to make contact.

"We...we mean you no harm!" I add. "We just...want to talk!"

Shirou decides to join in.

"It's just us! Us 3! Nobody else." He assures the being.

"Listen, we're in a bit of a tight situation right now. We just had a bit of incident recently, and we're just trying to get answers!" Nazuna adds as well.

Still somewhat silence, but something in the back of my head is telling us that this is working...

"We're not your enemies. We just want to know why you're here. We don't want people to be afraid of you. They're afraid of what they don't know." I tell it.

WHOOOSH!!!

Suddenly, a swift motion from the darkness, the emitted sound making us snap our heads towards it.

A shadow that moves in between the light, only knowing where it is based on the faint noises.

It moves all around the area, making us unnerved the longer it goes on.

It eventually stops in the area in front of us, right above the swords.

A distinctly masculine voice emerges from the darkness.

"They are right to be afraid. Many of those I know of, would gladly exploit it for their gain, whether it be to take what's yours, or worse."

I try to remain bold.

"Well, I'm not afraid of you!" I assert myself.

The being only sighs.

"Your feelings betray you, and you're a brand new animal to me, one such as yourself would recognize fear as being necessary."

"What's also necessary is the fact that someone is now here, without us knowing what. For some of us, it's a fear factor, for others, it's a technicality of knowing who exactly is living among us." Shirou tells the voice.

"Again, please, we don't want any trouble from you." Nazuna assures it once more.

A gentle chuckle seems to come from it.

Not the cocky kind, but seemingly the more amused kind, yet not condescending, somehow.

Soon, footsteps.

They get louder.

From the darkness.

That white and gold mask, and the white armor, concealing the identity of our stranger.

"That's good to know, and the fact that you didn't shoot first and ask questions later is even better. But it's not the trouble from me you should be concerned about."

It walks closer, and it leaps off elegantly, slowly descending as it does...

But it doesn't hit the ground.

It continues to levitate a few feet upwards as it flies closer to us.

When we're essentially face-to-face...

"It's those, of the one who sent me here, against my will, you should be concerned with."

"And who would that be, masked stranger?" Shirou rhetorically asks.

The creature leans in closer to us, and its voice, takes us aback with what it says next.

All accompanied by more of that invisible force emanating from it...

"My Demons."

Chapter End
(So this is the first chapter of the rework. Please, let me know on how it is, I need input. Thank you.)