Osaka was finally coming into a slow slumber. The streets were clearing up and the people who were lingering around were either out smoking or on their way home. The autumn air was finally getting to you as you can finally feel the cold after all of the bullshit you had to go through since Kyoto. You never realized how cold Japan can get in the autumn. Your nose scrunching and itching from the cold while your ears were a bit red. The streets weren't exactly filled with trees, but the few that came into view were either all red or had some golden color to them left. The streetlights were very bright, but the alleys in Osaka were much darker than the alleyways you have seen in Tokyo. The brightness of the streetlights were powerful, and were also very powerful enough to help alleys look darker in the shadows. And to be honest, you were thankful that the shadows were deep and dark-

-because Lukas was coughing out blood.

When you both exited the station earlier, on the topic on remembering your memory gaps, he started to feel sick-not the uneasy kind of sick, but sick sick. Once he started mentioning a few things like a roadtrip and a place up north in Norway, he started choking back a few coughs. At first you thought it was just the weather or his throat was dry-or probably the fact that you both were smokers because you were kind of feeling the itchiness from the running earlier, but it wasn't from any of those. He told you about the RV you both stayed in, what kind of person you were with him before (he can tell that you've changed), and how much determination you had to finish your thesis. The little information he shared caused him to cough uncontrollably.

"ACK!"

You gently patted Lukas' back as you both hid in the dark alleyway. With the few passerbys lookung at your alley occassionally, you really had nothing else to worry about besides the people who were looking for you. Lukas had his hand on his knee, bent down and a little shaky while covering his mouth with your hankerchief. His first priority was to avoid any droplets of blood as he knew that they could be easily tracked if any of his blood were to be smeared on the floor. Tears were forming in his eyes, but he could feel the worst of his fits of cough coming to an end. He no longer felt the dizziness, or did he feel like throwing up.

Lukas looked straight at the dull building wall, trying to figure out what the hell that was. The sudden outburst of feeling physically ill was new to him. He has never encountered something like this since his own torturous training in Romania during his isolation. He has trained himself to be more efficient and disciplined with the raw power of his own magics. Yet how his body was reacting as to telling you the truth had a chokehold on him, and it felt quite literal. He held his fingers againts his throat-breathing in deeply and grunting from the itch.

"Here." Without any hesitation, Lukas graciously took the bottle of water from your hand and began to drink it all down like a glass of beer.

You looked outside of the alley. People were getting scarce now. The nearby Lawson and Family Mart held the most people, which barely contained any besides the cashier and a couple of people. The tourists that walked by made you feel uneasy, silently praying that they weren't the people after you.

"I think," Lukas croaked, "I think I'm cursed."

"What?!"

You rushed to his side and began checking for things that could be a sign of his curse. You held his face and bobbed him side to side to check if there was any marks. You looked at the small backpack he had and the rest of the luggage, and nothing felt out of the ordinary. You took your hand out of your glove and pressed your palm against his forehead, but there was no fever or even sweat. Lukas looked healthy, with the color of his cheeks coming bacl. You were no magic expert, but you knew that if there was a curse on him it would take its effect through afflictions. One of those afflictions was him coughing out blood when he spoke about the past.

While you were worrying about him, Lukas felt a little bit concious. Your worry and closeness was making him a little flustered. Despite the growth and separation, it struck him with awe that you do still care about the people around you-let it be a stranger, friend, or a lost memory like him. He looked into your (e/c) eyes that were glowing faintly against the stray speckles of light from the main street. Whenever he looked at you, he was constantly reminded of the past. He knew that there was a brightness to you since the beginning, but as you grew older he noticed that the light in you has gone dimmer. You weren't as obnoxious as before now, but you weren't very conservative either. It didn't shake him off from you, it only made him more wary of his actions towards you. The faintly lit flame in you was now steady as a fire in the fireplace. You were secured and contented with life while being surrounded by bricks to hold that stability. Your life during his absence was safe and steady-your photography career and travels with Nick for work. He wasn't sure about himself now. He wasn't sure if bringing you back to this kind of life was going to benefit you as it would benefit him.

'Gods, am I stupid?' Lukas thought to himself while you were still busy fussing over finding the curse. As much as he wanted you to let yourself be, ge was getting a lot dizzier with all your fuss.

"(Y/n), curses can be invisible." He pointed out.

You stopped midway while squishing his cheeks. You scrunched your eyebrows and looked at him. Your eyes widened in embarassment as you realized how much personal space you have taken from Lukas. Flushed in the cheeks, you slowly took your hands off of him and quietly apologized for being so insensitive to his boundaries.

Unbeknownst fo you, Lukas didn't really mind you inavding his personal space. He found it quite cute. He didn't want to dwell on past experiences, but it really reminded him a lot of your times with him in Norway-how fussy or loud you can get when something happens to him. It's like his little secret comfort for now. He knows how much time has been lost and how lost your memories were, but the fact that you had habits you never outgrew just made it funny for him to say the least. Almost a little bit bittersweet to him.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

After a little rest stop at a combini for some water and throat lozenges, you and Lukas finally arrived at the meet up spot. Some shops were closing, but the small wagyu grills were still filled with people standing by the sides and waiting for their orders. There was a small kebab place that had two old Middle Eastern looking men conversing heartily with a few tourists as they served the last of their meat from the roaster. The market from the side was still open as tourists often stayed to try fresh sushi. You looked at the tower that served as the landmark of your meeting spot. Nick and Matthias were probably waiting below.

You started reminiscing about the times you had this full on hyperfixation on anime locations, and how that hyperfixation has actually helped you throughout your own photography career. You remembered that Lovely Complex was set in the Osaka area and you couldn't help but think about how your younger self would be rejoicing right now. You've been to Japan before, yes, but seeing it now without the thought of work just amazes you on how much influence their culture had on you growing up. Though you also wished that you didn't have to appreciate the scenery with the thought of people chasing after you.

You stopped in your tracks as you heard the ringtone of your phone go off. Lukas stopped as well as you answered the phone.

"Girl, where are you?" It was Nick.

"We're near, so wherever you guys are just stay put and-"

"No, no. Listen to me." There was a hint of subtle distress in Nick's tone. "You and Lukas need to leave, like now."

"What? What do you mean?" You looked at Lukas with a worried expression. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no. I'm fine." Nick breathed. "I'll make this quick, alright?"

You sighed before answering, "Alright."

"The plan worked a little too well I'm caught." Nick started. "I had to knockout Matthias to make it look like he was after me-by the way he and Lukas are connected to these people-but they asked me about you. Right now, you are their priority to apprehend. They won't do anything to me, but something ticks me off when they talk about you guys. My gut says so."

"S-Slow down! What do you mean you've been caught?" You gripped on your bags.

On Nick's end, you could hear a slow creak followed by a few colorful curses from her mumbling.

"Tell your husband that you should both get out of town." The tone of Nick's voice has shifted away from her worry into jolliness. "Um, out of the country maybe? Oh! I can refer you to someone I know."

You were getting nervous for Nick. Despite the change of tone, you were somehow responsible for her in this trip. You invited her on this job, and now she's stuck with these strangers. You weren't even sure why you were involved and now Nick was taking a bullet for you to get out. You never thought that you and Nick would ever even get this close-a friend who'd take a shot for you, and this wasn't the regular tequilla shots Nick would take for you either.

There was a knock on her end.

"Ms. Nicole, are you finished?" A stern woman's voice muffled from her end.

"Give me a few more minutes, my client is a little bit worried." Nick chuckled, hiding her nervousness. "I'm refering her to a new photographer."

"I'll be waiting outside."

"Okay!" Nick answered until she muttered the next words loud enough for only you to hear, "Daw maka halin gid ko, susmariyosep."

(Translation: As if I can leave, Jesus Mary Joseph.

Like that's the actual translation of the last word HAHAHAHA)

"Sorry, I think I have to leave na." Nick sighed over the phone. "I'll email you soon, alright? I mean it."

"Alright." You mumbled.

"Tell your fiance about the updates then! Buh-byee!"

The call ended. You didn't notice it at first, but your hands were shaking. You could feel your chest tighten. Nick wasn't a stranger, but you couldn't help but think that you weren't worthy enough to accept that kind of level of friendship-let alone experience that kind of friendship because you have never had this kind of ride or die. Sure, Alice in college had your back, but she wasn't that protective of you. Maybe it's because you and Nick shared the same connection with the supernatural or that you have had her by your side for so long. It just surprised you, and also scares you a lot.

You looked at Lukas who had a monotonous look on his face. Unreadable and stoic, but the emotions in his eyes says otherwise. He was worried about you. The swirls of blue and violet seemed to quicken the pace. It dawned on you that you could easily read his expressions through the colors of his eyes and how his irises would dilate. Despite the short amount of time you have been with him, you could somewhat read hus body language now. Well for starters Lukas was not very expressive in emotions or in words, but the more you observe his physical reactions you realize how easy it was to read him. You have your entire photography career to thank for that, especially when it comes to models intimate shoots.

You questioned yourself if you should be vulnerable now oor be vulnerable in front of him at all... then again Lukas probably knew you and you have been vulnerable with him in Kyoto. Yet you felt like it would be too much to just dump it on him all at once. You needed to show him that you can handle the situation properly. You need to show him that you can be trusted with situations like this-to be transparent with him while still being strong.

"It's Nick." You exhaled and pushed yout worry aside. "Our priority right now is to leave Japan. Her plan worked and she managed to make sure that Matthias would be safe from whoever you guys are working for."

It bothered you that he was assigned to protect you and now they were after you. Why is that? You wanted to ask him, but there are other things that need worrying now.

Lukas looked down pursing his lips. He was thinking what the next steps were. If you guys were leaving, where's the next stop? Where can you and Lukas escape to and find help? Lukas thought hard. There were a few people he could trust. The closest one would be in...

"We need to get to Hong Kong." Lukas spoke up. "I know someone there who can help us."

"Alright, where do we find a portal for that."

Lukas closed his eyes. You could feel a surge of energy coming out from him, a lot of energy. Your eyes widened as you witnessed glowing ribbons of blue, violet, and green coming out of his back like wings. As much as you wanted to remind Lukas that you were in public, you were too mesmerized by the flow of power manifesting from this man. The magic ribbons were stretched throughout the streets and alleys, and it seemed like no one notices them even if the ribbons were moving things around. Air rushed through, a strong breeze that made your hair fly all around and other people around started to hold their hats to avoid losing them.

"There."

The breeze suddenly stopped as his voice echoes like some kind of primordial. His magic energy drops all too sudden with the wind disappearing almost in an instant. When he opened his eyes, they were glowing all white. Your mouth gaped open as you could feel the surge of magic coming around him like before, except the ribbons were no longer present.

Lukas grabbed your hand with the other two bags in the other. You both started to make your way through alleys and alleys. For the first time, Japan felt like a maze to you as you followed his lead. It felt like you were zooming through the streets. Afraid to lose him, you held his hand tightly as he navigated through the streets with whatever magic was happening right now. To be precise, you felt like you were in that one scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past with Quicksilver's background music being Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics.

You swore that you witnessed a tourist dropping their takoyaki from the sudden speed you guys were going through.

You and Lukas made a sudden halt. You bumped into his back, feeling a sense of vertigo, but Lukas pulled you back before you could even fall from the sudden dizziness.

You looked up at him. Unlike earlier, he looked a lot healthier. The surge of power was still there, and you don't think it was ever going to leave until the both of you are long gone from this country. His eyes were no longer white, but they still continue to glow.

"Ready for another portal?" His voice had a pinch of excitement there.

You were so sure that he was hust showing off now.

"When was I ever not ready?" You matched his tone.

Lukas playfully scoffed at you. A smirk graced his lips as you watch him knock on a building's back door twice. He opened the door to reveal a reddish glowing portal that emitted sounds of traffic, yelling, and the smell of street food. Your breath hitched. Now that's a portal you would expect from him, not like the portal he did at the last minute.

A smile curves on your face while Lukas started walking backwards. As he leads you into the portal, you found yourself suddenly losing all of your worry. The adrenaline rush and sense of adventure was coming all at you. It felt familiar and right. A vision appears right before you, another one of those double visions of seeing him and his younger self side by side. You chuckled and let this strange sense of familiarity dwell right into your heart.

"Show off."

HEYYYY! It's been almost a month since the last update and I am so sorry for that. I'm in my thesis making season and we're writing a comic for it. So since I am not a good artist, I'm writing the thing and will follow up with coloring. We're a duo in this thesis so the manpower is really low huhuhu 😭 Will update sooner I swear 🥺

Also I might (this actually may kill me pls) make a spin off story for Matthias and Nick because it's been my dream to actually make a full on Hetalia x OC fic that actually has a good story line HAHAHAHAHA hopefully it's gonna be good 🥹

Auf Wiedersehen for now!

-Pumpkin