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Chapter Text

Lacked of inspiration, he just drew the cup that was standing in front of him. He waited for his best friend to come and go the club they intended to go for a while. He was sitting in the small apartment owned by his father who adopted him when he was a baby. He finished drawing the cup- it was a lot easier to draw than angels or any other creatures. Fantasy was fascinating for him, but his father didn't allow him to draw or read fantasy.

Yamaguchi Tadashi was a regular teenager, about to turn sixteen. Though he was adopted, his father insisted for him to keep his last name, so he wouldn't forget about his roots. He had a normal appearance, though he was taller than most guys and his cheeks were covered with freckles- there were few of them, but it didn't stop from others to make fun of him. His hobbies were simple. He liked to read and to draw. He had one close friend, Yachi Hitoka, whom he had known since they were little kids. Just like him, she was a bit dork, sharing his hobbies and interests.

His father wasn't home, which was a good sign. For some reason, his father forbade him from going to the club, "Pandemonium".  Yamaguchi never understood his father's peculiar taboos. His father never read him fairy tales. He wasn't allowed to watch Disney movies, so he had to go to Yachi's place. His father never wanted his to watch cartoons, not even anime, which was ridiculous a little bit, since they lived in Tokyo. Obviously if Yamaguchi bought merchandise with his own money, his father just frowned.

He heard someone unlocking the door, which meant his father was coming back home earlier than expected. Yamaguchi grabbed the nearest book to pretend he was reading it. It was unspoken rule between his father and him that reading time was important and it couldn't be disturbed. The grey-haired man walked into the apartment, with a distressed expression on his face. There were dark circles under his brown eyes, but the beauty mark under his left eye was still shown. A taller dark haired man followed, holding groceries bags. Both man headed towards the kitchen, ignoring Tadashi.

He heard his father's voice. "We have to move. We can't stay here any longer."

"Calm down, Koushi," spoke Sawamura Daichi, a friend of the family, who was always there ever since Tadashi could remember. He was almost like a second father to him. Daichi worked at a bookstore underneath the building he lives in, and Tadashi was always fond of visiting Daichi's store. However, Daichi spent a lot of his time visiting Koushi and Tadashi. "Just somewhere else for awhile, it would be good for both of you."

Tadashi cleared his throat to let the two older men know he was there. His father was relieved to see him. "Pack your things; we are going to Daichi's summer house," his father ordered. He checked Tadashi and noticed his clothes. "You can't go out tonight, you won't have time packing."

"What?!" Tadashi was bewildered. "When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow, first thing on the morning," Koushi said with no farther explanation.

"For how long?" Tadashi asked carefully. He had plans for his vacation, alongside with his friend. He planned on going to art school to work on his drawing skills. He took a park time job to finance the school- mostly since his father banded his from going- and he work hard to save enough money.

Koushi sighed before answering. "We will return after the vacation is over."

"But-" before Tadashi could continue, the door was opened again, and a small figure entered the room. Yachi Hitoka was Tadashi's cute childhood friend. She had a petite figure and beautiful brown eyes. Usually she had a small pony tail on hair side, however that evening her short blond hair was loose. She wore a black dress and matching short high heels that made her a little bit taller.

She could come in without knocking. She was also like a family member. "Good evening, everyone," she greeted all three men with a smile. She was a smart girl and probably noticed the tense mood in the room. "Shall I wait outside?"

"No," Tadashi grabbed his belonging from the table and put them inside his pocket, "I was on my way out."

"Tadashi, wait-" Koushi tried to stop him, but Tadashi already grabbed Hitoka's hand and dragged her out of the apartment. The minute he closed- or, more correctly, slammed it- he let go of Hitoka, worried he might have hurt her. "I'm sorry," he said as they were climbing down the stairs.

"I'm fine," she replied. "But is everything okay with you and your dad? It sounded like you two were arguing."

"Because we were," Tadashi sighed. Usually, he got along with his father. It was rare for the two of them to act like that.

They were waiting outside "Pandemonium", waiting in line with others who were eager to enter the club as they did. Hitoka required from Tadashi to tell exactly what happened. "He announced we are going on vacation."

"That doesn't sound so bad," she frowned. "His intentions aren't bad, you know."

"You should have seen him," Tadashi explained himself. "He was all nervous and shaking. He was hiding something. He always lets me know things ahead. He storms into the apartment, tells me to pack my things and that we are leaving first thing tomorrow for the whole vacation."

"That… does sound weird," Hitoka agreed with him. "What about your-"

"He didn't explain anything," Tadashi cut her off. "He also never wanted me to go to that school. You know how-" Tadashi stopped his sentence when he noticed a handsome man passed by, his hair dyed in blue, dressed up in Goth style. The man walked pass the line and was allowed to walk in immediately.

"Why could he skip the line?" said Hitoka.

"Well, he does look good," he commented. "And he seemed to know the guard."

Hitoka jump in excitement. "I can't believe we are finally going to the hottest club in the city." Tadashi smiled. They both wanted to go badly, especially Hitoka. The only thing they were worried about was whether the guard would allow them in. Tadashi could easily lie about his age, he was tall enough. Hitoka, however, was short even for her age, even though she was actually older than Tadashi. She looked younger.

When their turn came, the guard said, "You can't go in."

Hitoka showed her ID. "Fine, you can, but the boy can't."

Tadashi was surprised. "Why not?"

"Where is your ID?" the guard smirk. He liked his job, including not letting people in.

He didn't know Tadashi came prepared with a fake ID. The guard's smile turned to a frown. He let them both in.

The music was loud and he could barely listen to anything Hitoka was saying. There were many people around them; it was amazing there was space to dance. She was dancing, Tadashi trying to cope. He felt he looked ridiculous, so his movements were minimal. He noticed the handsome guy he saw earlier, sitting next to the bar. A beautiful woman approached to him.

She had a long silky black hair, with figure any girl would dream to have- tall, slim and breasts larger than average. Her beauty was more erotic, even Tadashi thought. She was wearing a long white dress with long sleeves, which was a little odd for the season. He could hear Hitoka screaming, "What are looking at?"

"Nothing," he lied to her. The guy also thought like Tadashi, since the two were flirting with each other.

"This is really cool," Hitoka yelled.

"Yeah," he said. "Though it's packed."

"There aren't many people here," she said, "just on the dance floor."

He was surprised she couldn't see the amount of people, or maybe it was because she didn't care. Either way, he felt a little less tense. The argument he had with his father earlier, left a bitter taste on his tongue and he knew he would have to face him the day later.

He noticed the man and the woman walking away from the bar. The man looked as if he got lucky, whereas he couldn't read the woman's expression. He guessed she wasn't that much exciting for her. They walked towards a door at a far end of the club. Tadashi wanted to ignore that, until he noticed two men were following the couple. They were both tall; the blond was taller than the black-haired one. They wore black clothes, their arms covered in tattoos. Then, he could see both men were holding knives. He stopped dancing and he got worried. The men didn't look like the good guys. He panicked, trying to think what to do. He couldn't stop it by himself. He wasn't sure he could fight the other two guys.

He turned to Hitoka, who noticed his reaction. "Are you okay?"

"Call the security guard," he ordered her and walked towards the location the couple headed. Hitoka tried to stop him, but he ignored her protests, not leaving any explanation.

He had to fight the crowd of people, which wasn't easy. He hoped the guy would put up a fight. He doubted that, since the men looked strong. He himself couldn't do much, but he could install them. He finally reached the door, after many apologizes and sometimes pushing people rudely. He opened the door and walked into the storage room. It was a little lighter than the club and he could see well. He heard a scream and rushed towards the sound. At the end of the room, the blue haired man was bruised, leaning against the wall. He could see the three people surrounded him clearly, noticing they were about his age. All three teens were gorgeous, fitting for modeling rather than murder.

The blond, who was the tallest of them all, took his knife and stabbed the man in his eye. Tadashi screamed and then the teens noticed him. The man, instead of lying dead on the ground, slowly started disappearing. There was no trace left of him, except some mud splashed on the wall. The blond guy stared at him and Tadashi got lost while staring at the teen's gold eyes- he had never seen eyes in that color and it was beautiful.

It was the other boy's voice that got him back to reality. "How the hell can he see us? He is a mundane." The other boy was also good-looking, about Tadashi's height. His hair color and blue eyes were dark and the frown on his face made him look a little bit scary.

"Maybe he has the sight?" wondered the girl out loud.

Tadashi didn’t know what to do or say. He witnessed a murder, yet there was no body. The door opened out loudly and two security guards along with Hitoka burst into the room. The two guards approached Tadashi. "What did you see, kid?"

His throat was dry and he just pointed at the three teens. They didn't look alarmed, they were just standing there. The guards were looking at each other, confused. "There are three of them," was all he managed to say. The two guards still stared at each other, not doing anything to arrest the teens. The blond one looked satisfied, as if he was enjoying the situation. Tadashi had to admit it, but he looked kinda cool. Hitoka approached to him, taking his hand. "Tadashi-kun… there is no one in here except us," she said softly.

Tadashi shook his head violently. He continued pointing at the teens. "They are here; right in front of me… the body just disappeared."

Hitoka turned to the guards and bowed. "I'm so sorry for troubling you, I'll take him home." She dragged Tadashi outside the club.

Tadashi wasn't sure of many things and he didn't know much. There was one thing he was sure about- he did witness that murder and he didn't imagine anything. He breathed deeply. "I'll walk you home," he declared. "You live near here anyway."

"Are you sure? It's not that late, I can-" she started saying.

"I'm sure," he cut her off. "I don't feel that well, maybe I should go home. But I want to make sure you're safe first."

There was a silence between them. None of them talked about what happened inside the club. Hitoka probably thought he lost his mind. They reached the building where she lived and said their goodbyes.

"Try to settle things with your father," she advised him.

"I will," he promised her.

He walked back to the club. He didn't plan on going inside; he just wanted to figure out how to come back. His father was still awake and after everything that happened, he wanted to avoid him.

"You'd make a terrible accomplice," he heard a voice from behind. He turned around, only to face the blond guy he saw earlier. He took a step back, thinking about running away. "It's not nice to accuse someone with murder."

Tadashi didn't know if he was dreaming. The man who was standing next to him was real. His voice was real. Tadashi pocked his arm- his touch was real. "What the hell are you doing?" asked the other teen.

"You are real," he said.

"Or maybe just your fantasy," the blond teased.

"Why am I the only who can see you?"  Tadashi ignored the teasing.

The teen got serious. "The real question is what are you that make you able to see me?"

"I don't have time for this," Tadashi stepped aside. He took his phone out of his pocket. There was an unanswered call from his father. He should head home.

"He went back to his dimension," the boy said. "It's what happens when demons die. They go back to where they came from." And the boy walked away.

When Tadashi got back home, Koushi wasn't alone. Daichi was there too. Both of them scolded him for coming home late and going to the club.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were?" his father said.

Tadashi wanted to claim that they knew where he was, however he knew better. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"We will discuss this tomorrow," his father said.

He just nodded and went to his room. Usually he told his father everything. However, he couldn't bring himself to talk about the weird murder or about the guy he met. He could hear his father and his friend whispering. "Doesn't he act a little bit weird? Do you think he saw something he shouldn't have?"

"I think you're worrying too much, he is just tired."

He wanted to fall asleep, but whenever he closed his eyes the image of the beautiful blond appeared. Unable to fall asleep, he took out his sketchbook and drew the boy. Even after all that happened, he still wanted to run into him again. He imagined the boy as an angel with wings of gold, with a lonely expression on his face.     

Chapter Text

The following day, Tadashi woke up earlier than usual. He received a text from Hitoka, offering to go to a cafe for breakfast. He accepted the offer and got out of the apartment before his father woke up. He knew they would have to talk and he wanted to delay their conversation as long as he could. He rarely fought with his father and he didn't want face him. He felt guilty every time they had a fight.

On his way down stairs, he looked down and saw someone coming out of his neighbor's, Lev, apartment. The man stared at him with brown eyes that reminded Tadashi a cat. It wasn't surprising. As a fortune-teller, Lev had many clients, so Tadashi just assumed the man was one of them. It didn't bother him much, except of a small trace of glitter the man left.

It was a sunny day, yet a cool breeze kept the hit away. It was a nice day for a walk and Tadashi didn't mind. He had time to kill before he met Hitoka. He used the times to clear his thoughts. He thought maybe somebody put something in his drink that made him day dream about the murder. Obviously, if it happened, there would be a body. Also, he was the only one who saw everything. Yet… yet, he knew it happened. It felt so vivid, including the meeting of the handsome guy. He was real. Tadashi couldn't imagine a man as beautiful as him. His features were angelic, nothing like Tadashi had seen before.

He wondered about his father's odd behavior. It wasn't like him to panic like that. He was protective over Tadashi, but he also trusted him. He was upset from Tadashi's decision. Daichi was also there. Their conversation made no sense. They had no reason to worry over Tadashi. Sure, if he started seeing imaginary hot blond guys, it would be problematic, but his father had no way to know that.

Before he noticed, he reached his destination. Though he was early, Hitoka already waited for him. She wasn't alone. Tadashi's red haired classmate, Hinata Shoyo, was there with her. They talked and laughed and Tadashi felt a pang of jealousy. It was a weird feeling since both of them were his friends. He approached the table they were sitting and joined them. Both of them greeted him with a smile.

"I was about to tell Yachi about a poem I wrote," said Hinata as he took out a piece of paper.

"Since when you write poetry?" Tadashi wondered out loud. 

"I don't, I had an assignment as homework. We had to write about something I love. But, it's really good!" Hinata said proudly.

"That's sounds great, Hinata- kun," Hitoka complimented him. "Can you read it to us?"

"Of course," Hinata cleared his throat. Then he read a bunch of lines that made absolutely no sense at all. It was truly horrible. Volleyball metaphors just didn't fit poetry. "So what do you guys think?" he asked at the end. "You are too quite."

"Well, I'm speechless," Hitoka laughed nervously.

"Some poems are hard to tell what they are about. Yours is clearly about volleyball," Tadashi hoped it didn't sound off.

Hinata seemed to take the remarks as compliments. "Seriously?! You guys liked it that much?" His smile was so bright; Tadashi regretted he didn't bring sunglasses.

"I think I should write poems too," Hinata announced proudly.

"Do you guys want to order something?" Hitoka changed the subject. "I think his place is self- service."

"Yes, I'm starving," Hinata said loudly.

"You guys can go and order, I'll sit here and make sure no one takes this table," Tadashi said. He felt more like throwing up than eating.

"Should we order something for you?" offered Hinata.

"It's fine; I still don't know what I want."

Hitoka and Hinata exchanged looks and got up. Tadashi was a little bit off, but he didn't want to ruin the morning for his friends too. He looked at them walking together, and he felt stupid for not offering to go instead of Hitoka. He knew her taste; he could pick something she liked. His mood was affecting his judgment.

"If you're so jealous, why did you let them walk together?" he heard a man's voice. He turned around to face not other than the blond guy he met yesterday, who sat in front of him. Needless to say, he was caught off guard.

"What are you-" he started saying, than he remembered he was the only one who could see that guy. People would stare at him as if he was crazy. He took out his phone, pretending someone called him. "What are you doing here?"

"You are acting weird," the blond remarked. "I guess you still remember me."

"Why am I the only one who can see you?"

The blond smirked. "From what I was told, it's not such a bad thing."

What the hell was wrong with this guy? "What do you want?"

"I wanted to make sure you're safe," the man said honestly, with a straight face.

Tadashi, in reaction, blushed. Why did this man care about him? "And if I weren't?"

"Then I could just go back home."

"Thanks, I feel a lot safer."

The guy fumbled in his black jeans' pocket. He took out a small box in a size of a tic-tac box with buttons; each one had a different symbol on it. "This is for you," he said as Tadashi took it.

"What is this?" Tadashi wondered.

"This is a sensor, you-" he stopped his sentence when he looked at the direction of Hitoka and Hinata, who were getting closer. He got up, saying "I'll see you around," before he walked away fast.

Still overwhelmed, he barely noticed his friends who were already sitting at the table. Hitoka waved her hand in front of him. "Can you hear me?" she called to him.

"Oh yes," Tadashi shook his hand. "I'm just a little but surprised, that's all."

"Who called you?" asked Hinata.

Tadashi noticed he was still clinging to his phone. He put the phone down and the sensor in his pocket. "Just a friend."

"Who? The tall guy who was talking with you, the one covered in tattoos is related to him?" asked Hitoka.

He couldn't believe it. The previous night she couldn't see him, buy in daylight she could? Who was this person? What was this person? "Are you telling me you saw that guy?!"

Hitoka and Hinata blinked in surprise. "Yes," she answered. "He was tall, probably taller than you. He also wore black cloths and he had many tattoos. Oh no, he is probably a delinquent! Was he threatening you? Did you get in trouble with the black market?!"

Seeing she started to imagine the worst case scenario, he calmed her down. "Don’t worry, I ran into him not long ago, he just said hi." It wasn't a complete lie and it satisfied Hitoka. The guy did look shady, but Tadashi didn't think he was a bad person. Even though he witnessed the blond murdering someone whom he referred as a demon, which might be a bad idea.

"I don't like him," said Hinata, "he looks like a jerk."

He looked at his friends' order. Both of bought drinks, Hinata also bought a cake, and there was a third drink. Hitoka said she felt a bit guilty for not getting anything for Tadashi, so she bought him coffee. "You look like you need it," she said.

"You have no idea."

They talked about the upcoming exams when Tadashi's phone rang. It was his father again.

"You can't ignore him forever," Hitoka scolded him. "It is your fault for going without his permission."

"Fine," Tadashi gave up. "I'll go to the side." He knew it would be tough and he needed privacy.

He got up and went outside. When he picked up the phone, he heard his father's worried voice and it felt a little bit comforting. "Thank god you picked up! Do you know how worried I was?! Where are you?"

Tadashi gave his father the name of the place. "I'm with Hitoka and Hinata."

"I'm glad." His father sighed. "I need you to listen to me care-" There was a scream and the call ended. "Dad?" he called in vain. Tadashi tried to call again, however he couldn't. He started to panic. This couldn't be a good sign. He didn't go into the café; he just signed Hitoka he had to leave. The quick way to get back to his apartment was taking a cab. At this time of the day there was no traffic and obviously walking by foot would take too long. On his way he prayed that it was an innocent misunderstanding, that he took it way too seriously. Maybe his father's phone fell down. It didn't explain the screaming, but it could explain the reason he couldn't reach his father. He didn't stop ringing even as the cab was driving.

The moment he reached the destination, he quickly gave the driver the money and ran towards the apartment. He thanked god that he was blessed with speed and stamina, more than his classmates. He reached the last floor and he breathed heavily. There was no point in fumbling for the key, the door was slightly open. Tadashi remembered clearly he locked the door. It looked like someone broke in.

He opened the door. Instead of his apartment, what he saw was a complete mess. "Dad?" he called out, but there was no answer. He looked around the apartment and saw that everything was in a chaos. He walked to his father's bedroom, where he found nothing but broken furniture. He had to call the police or at least Daichi- anyone who could help him figure out what happened to his father.

Then, the hissing sound came. "Bring me the boy…"

Tadashi turned around. On the floor he saw a creature that was a hybrid of an alligator and a spider. The creature was terrifying and was running towards Tadashi. Instead of screaming, which seemed appropriate to the situation he was in, he tried to figure out how to escape the bedroom. He had nowhere to hide. Tadashi grabbed a lamp- the only thing in his reach that could be used as a weapon, and threw it towards the creature. It didn't help much, but it was a distraction he needed. He ran towards the kitchen. He grabbed a knife and aimed towards the creature that who running to him. It screamed- it was an awful loud sound that didn't sound like any animal- but it kept going. It launched at Tadashi, who could barely escape. "The boy… alive…"

Lying on the floor, Tadashi was hopeless. He didn't have time to get up and grab something. He remembered the weird looking box the blond guy gave him earlier. The creature opened his mouth and Tadashi used the opportunity to throw the- what it was called? A sensor?- to the creature's throat. It backed down, twisting. It was an ugly thing to watch, but he was happy he managed to at least get the creature away from him. He tried to stand up slowly, someone pulled him up. Surprised and terrified, he looked up and saw the same stranger whom he saw not while ago. How did he manage to get to Tadashi's apartment? The freckled boy had no clue.

The taller boy put himself between Tadashi and the creature, ready with a dagger in his hand. "Run, it will recover soon, I'll deal with it."

"How-"

"RUN!"

Tadashi did as he was told, not sure why he could trust the blond. However, he couldn't run far. Why did the boy get back with him? Why did he protect Tadashi? The boy stabbed the creature, but it wouldn't go down. It pushed him against the counter, the boy stopped the fall with his hand. It made an ugly noise and the hand was broken in a twisted way that made Tadashi want to throw up. The boy kicked the creature and took out something that looked like a pen. He drew a symbol on his arm and right before he knew it, the arm looked as good as new. Then, the boy threw the dagger towards the creatures head. It twisted around before shrinking until it disappeared.

The blond put the dagger back and approached Tadashi. He stopped few centimeters away, only a step away from him. He was indeed taller than Tadashi. Up close, he could see the color of his eyes was pure gold, not like anything Tadashi had seen before. It was beautiful. The blond put a hand on Tadashi's forehead, a gentle touch. He felt slight pain and he saw blood on the blond's long fingers. Because of the adrenaline, he didn't feel he got an injury. The blond took out the pen-looking tool he saw earlier and started drawing on Tadashi. It burned.

"This will be painful," the blond said.

"You say this before you start," Tadashi winced. Remembering what happened to the blond's arm, he touched his wound. There was a dried blood, but no sign of an injury. "What the-"

"You welcome." The blond didn't say anything, just checking Tadashi, an insightful look on his face. "I knew it."

"You knew… what?"

He smirked. "You're a shadowhunter."            

Chapter Text

"I'm… what?"

"You ask too many questions," the blond said annoyed. "Is there a safe place you can go to?"

Tadashi was too shocked to think about anything. "I guess I can go-"

The taller boy didn't let him finish. "Good, let's go there."

"Wait a minute; I don't even know your name!"

The boy himself realized he forgot about something trivial as that, but who was ready to follow a complete stranger? "Tsukishima Kei," he introduced himself. The name fitted him.

"I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi."

The boy, Kei, was surprised to hear the name. However, his expression changed after one second. "Let's get you somewhere safe first."

The only safe place Tadashi could think of was Daichi's home. Ever since he could remember, Daichi was always there, helping Koushi to raise Tadashi. The only thing he wondered was how he would tell Daichi the news. Being attacked by what Kei called a demon may have been the truth, but it didn't sound realistic. Daichi would think he was crazy, at best case. He could excuse Tadashi's imagination with a head ache, which wouldn't explain their ruined apartment. Whatever might happen, Daichi could help.

On their way to Daichi's apartment, Kei was awfully quite. He knew Tadashi had thousands of questions, but he answered none. He didn't know what was going on- it was too confusing. In fact, it all seemed like a dream that felt realistic. He waited for the dream to end, but kept sleeping. He tried to pinch himself, but it didn't help much.

Daichi's apartment was behind the book store Daichi owned. Tadashi always loved to visit the store. Daichi would recommend him a book and he got them for free. It was a small store, but it smelled of old and new books. It had its own magic. However, when Tadashi and Kei reached the shop, it was locked. It was business hour, so Tadashi couldn't help but finding it odd.

"Maybe he is out?" asked Kei.

Tadashi didn't answer him. Instead, he walked in the alley between the shop and the grocery store next to it. It took few steps and they reached the door for Daichi's apartment. It was locked. "I forgot the keys!" He was so sure he would find Daichi; it didn't occur to him that something so trivial would be problematic.

It didn't bother Kei. He took out the pen-looking thing and drew something on the lock. The door opened. "I brought my own," he said. Tadashi stared shocked while Kei opened the door wide. "After you."

"Okay, you need to explain what this thing is," demanded Tadashi.

"No, I really don't," was what he got as a reply. "And that's a stele, by the way."

Tadashi walked inside the apartment, which was in a complete mess. Most of the time it was full of books and boxes, it was more of a storage room. Koushi used to scold Daichi for neglecting the apartment, but Daichi's presence in their place was his excuse. There was no one inside, which wasn't supposed to be surprising since the door was locked.

"What is safe about this place?" Kei grumbled. "It looks like a dumpster."

"Daichi is my father's best friend. He was there ever since I could remember." There was a room for Tadashi too- when his father was out of town, he used to stay with Daichi. It was the only room that was tidy.

"Looks like a demon was here too," said Kei.

"You're exaggerating. It's just books and boxes." And it was the way he liked it, as ridiculous as it sounded. Tadashi expected the blond to leave him in the apartment and go his own way, but he stayed. He stood there, checking the apartment. Tadashi had no idea why he stayed there. He made sure Tadashi was safe, what else did he need?

"I know you're staring," he remarked.

Tadashi blushed. "Thanks for coming along."

Kei sat down on the couch. "Whatever," he simply said. He sounded like it was the most obvious thing to do, though Tadashi was sure it wasn't.

"How did you know to find me in the café this morning?" Tadashi said by Kei's side.

"It's a trivial thing," Kei avoided Tadashi's gaze. "It smells like a werewolf lives here."

Tadashi laughed. "You're over reacting." He didn't know why Kei thought about werewolves. If anything, the smell reminded him of old books.

Suddenly, Kei got up, a worried expression on his face. "There is someone coming."

"That's probably Daichi," said Tadashi. "There's nothing to worry about."

"He isn't alone," said Kei. Tadashi could hear a faint sound of footsteps; it was amazing Kei could tell the difference. He grabbed Tadashi and signed him to get up. "We have to hide."

"Why would I hide-" Tadashi didn't finish the sentence as Kei was already dragging him towards a wooden library. Kei took out his stele and drew a symbol on the wood. Then, they were able to see what happened beyond the wood, with the little space there was left between the books. Kei signed him to be quite.

He didn't know why Kei needed to hide. Tadashi could just introduce him as a friend. Daichi wouldn't mind. However, the small space created a weird intimacy. Tadashi could see the different tattoos on Kei's skin and he noticed there were few scars on his beautiful body. Even a perfect appearance had its flaws.

Tadashi mentally slapped himself. He was getting distracted. He heard someone coming in. "I swear I left the door locked," he heard Daichi's voice. He wasn't alone though. Two mysterious people came through the door, wearing cloaks. It was impossible to recognize them. For some reason they couldn't see the two teenage boys and Tadashi guessed it was because of the magic Kei performed. All three sat in the small living room area, there Kei and Tadashi sat a while ago. Daichi was sitting in front of the figures. He looked tired, Tadashi thought.

"How can I help you guys?" he said in a monotone voice. It didn't fit him.

"We want to gather information about the whereabouts of Sugawara Koushi and his son," said one of the figures. It was without doubt a man's voice.

"And why do you think I know?" suggested Daichi. "Besides, everybody knows his son is dead."

If it weren't for Kei covering his mouth, Tadashi would expose them. He didn't like what he was hearing or the way the conversation was headed.

"But is he?" it was the second figure's voice, also a man's, but scarier. "We have sources that tell us the opposite."

"His son is dead," repeated Daichi in a cold tone. "He was a stillborn. The brat you might call son is just a replacement he found." Tadashi wanted to cover his ears. Since when did Daichi referred to his as a brat? Also, did Koushi really view him as a replacement?

"Oh, we are aware of the tragedy," said the second figure. "We also know that he kid might be related to the Yamaguchis and that's why Saito is interested in him."

"Yamaguchi's bloodline is also dead," answered Daichi. "I honestly don't know why Saito would attack Koushi and I don't really care either."

"You don't care?" asked the first figure, a clear doubt in his voice.

"I was trying to get away from everything, especially after what happened to Yui, he was nothing but an annoying reminder of the past," Daichi's voice was bitter. "I had to put through him and the brat he was raising. It was truly irritating, I'm glad I can have a peace of mind right now."

"That's a harsh way to talk about your parabatai like that."

"Former parabatai," Daichi corrected them. "That was our relationship in the past. We aren't so close right now."

The two figures stood up. "Thanks for your time," they both said together.

"Sorry to waste yours," he stood up too. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to open my shop. You'll be surprised how many people by books on Sundays." Daichi politely walked his guests out. Kei was the only thing that kept Tadashi from standing up and ask Daichi everything he wanted. Daichi took his phone and dialed a number. "Asahi, I need you to gather everyone right now." He hung up the phone and got out of the apartment.

Only then, Tadashi and Kei could breathe. Overwhelmed, Tadashi felt his entire world was falling apart. His father was missing, he had nowhere to go, and the only person he could go to apparently lie to him his entire life. Not to mention, he was attacked by a demon and was the only one who witnessed a murder scene. Was he going mad? Did he read the signs wrong?

He didn't notice Kei already stood up until the blond offered him a hand to help him get up. Without a word, Tadashi took his hand.

"I wanted to hide simply because I didn't want start explaining everything," said Kei. "I guess we will get out of here."

Tadashi nodded. The only person that was left and could be trusted was Hitoka. However, he didn't want her to know what happened to him. She would worry too much. Moreover, he didn't want to drag her into his mess. It was too dangerous for her. It was something he couldn't protect her from.

He tried to get up, however, he felt too dizzy. Kei caught before he stumbled down. "Are you okay?" asked Kei.

"I just… I think I have a headache," murmured Tadashi.

"Dammit, the rune didn't help… We need to get you to the institute now."

In his dreams he saw an angel. The beautiful angel had magnificent golden wings. However, he looked broken. He was covered in tattoos and scars. He looked dangerous and fragile at the same time. His eyes color matches the color of the wings; it was truly stunning and hypnotizing. When Tadashi woke up he found himself staring into those eyes.

"Can you hear me?" asked Kei.

"Yes," answered Tadashi. He noticed he didn't feel a headache anymore.

"You hit head pretty hard. Do you remember who I am?"

"Yes… You're Tsuki." Though they knew each other for few hours, Tadashi knew he could trust Kei, even though there was no sense behind it. Maybe it was because Kei saved his life or the fact was everywhere in the last twenty four hours. Kei didn't seem to mind the nickname.

He looked around. He had no idea where he was, but one thing for sure, he knew it wasn't a hospital.  There were several beds, all of them are empty. The design of the room was rather boring, just brown wallpaper and few lamps. There was a drawer beside him, on the top of that a cup of water and another cup filled with weird liquid. He saw Kei handling him clothes, a book in his hand too.

"This should be around your size, sorry it's only black. I couldn't find other colors," said Kei. "You former clothes are dirty."

"Thanks," Tadashi murmured. "Tsuki?"

"What is it?"

"Where am I?"

Kei handed him the book that was titled "The Shadowhunter Codex". "This is the institute; this is the place where shadowhunters can feel safe."

Tadashi looked at the book. "Why you give me this book."

"It's time for you to learn the truth."

Chapter Text

Shadowhunters were the ones who fought demons and the other downworlders who risked humans' lives. They are Nephilim, part humans and part angels, making them more powerful than mundanes- it was how Shadowhunters called humans.

"Wait a minute, are you saying I'm not a human?" asked Tadashi.

"Yes," answered Kei simply, "that's exactly what I said."

"That's ridiculous. If I'm not human than…" He was sure raised as one. If he truly wasn't a human, Koushi would inform him as one point or another. It wasn't possible to keep this a secret forever.

"You're a shadowhunter- do you really listen to anything I say?" Kei sounded annoyed. "This is a waste of time-"

"No, wait!" Tadashi was hopeless. He finally started receiving answers for some of the questions he asked. He was wearing clothes he didn't own, but surprisingly fitted him perfectly. "I'm just shocked, you know? For me, werewolves, vampires, tooth fairy and warlocks existed only in stories."

"Who the hell is tooth fairy?"

"They aren't real?" That was a relief.

"Fairies are real. They are just like humans, they have a soul. They are truly dangerous. Whereas we can understand warlocks, it's hard to understand the faeries. They can't lie, but it doesn't mean they can't twist the truth. However, I have no idea who the hell is tooth fairy."

Two people walked into the room. Tadashi recognized them immediately as the two teens who were with Kei that night in Pandemonium, helping him killing the demon. Both of them wore black, just like Kei. Looking that at daylight, he could see that the symbols on them looked like Kei's. He made a mental note to ask Kei about it. The girl was beautiful, he couldn't deny it. She was tall and still wore high heels. Her long hair was as black as the night and her blue eyes were cold.  Both of were surprised to find Tadashi in the institute.

The guy stared at Tadashi with an angry expression on his face, making him look terrifying. "Stop sulking, Tobio," said Kei, "people might get the wrong idea and think you're scary."

Tobio wasn’t fazed by that comment. "What the hell is this?" he pointed at Tadashi.

"It's a boy, congratulations," answered Kei. "Sure if you looked at the mirror, you'd be able to recognize one."

The girl stepped in, before it became an argument between Kei and Tobio. "We were looking for you. We didn't know you brought a mundane with you."

"Why are looking for me?" Though they were clearly interested in Tadashi, Kei ignored that subject.

"Tetsurou called us. We have no idea why though," said the girl. "I don't think he would like to know there is a mundane inside the institute."

"Mundanes with the Sight used to work for institutes in the past, it's not that weird. Either way-"

Kei didn't get to finish the sentence. Another man walked into the room. His black hair was a mess of spikes and yet it looked good. His clothes were black too- no one in the instituted seemed to wear anything different, except the white dress the woman wore the night he first saw her. Just like the rest of the people in the room, he was covered in tattoos.

"Where did you guys-" he stopped talking once his eyes laid on Tadashi. "I see the mundane woke up."

"You knew he was here?!" asked Tobio and the woman.

"Of course, I was the one who took care of him," Tetsurou approached to Tadashi. "I'm Kuroo Tetsurou, the head of the institute. I see you already met Kei. This other two are Kageyama Tobio and Shimizu Kiyoko. We are the best shadowhunters in the region."

"Thanks for having me," murmured Tadashi. "I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi." Everyone, besides Kei, stared at him surprised. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," Kei glared at the rest of the shadowhunters.

Tadashi couldn't take it anymore. "Well, if you excuse me, I'll go back to my place."

"What place?" asked Kei. "There is nothing there but a mess. Besides, there might be still demons out there."

"Is he wearing my clothes?" asked Tobio.

Kei ignored Tobio's question. "You're not going back."

"I have to! What if my father finally went back?"

"He is right," said Tetsurou. "Maybe there is evidence in the apartment. Anything we can find can be useful."  

"That… doesn't sound like anything he said," Kei protested. "Either way, it's not safe for him to go alone. I'll go with him."

Tetsurou nodded in agreement. "Go ahead. Shell I send you with protection?"

Kiyoko, Kei and Tadashi were stunned from what Tetsurou suggested. Tobio, however, was a different story. "Shadowhunters always carry a dagger with them." No one dared to explain him what Tetsurou meant.

Tadashi was glad Kei came along. It did feel safer with him around. The last day he spent with him brought them closer together. Though Kei was cold and indifferent, Tadashi felt the blond cared about him. It was weird being next to Kei. He didn't feel anything like that next to Hitoka even. It wasn't just Kei's appearance. There was something about the blond that attracted him.

"You don't have to stare so bluntly," Kei remarked.

Tadashi's face turned to red. "Sorry, I've never seen a shadowhunter before."

"You've seen four in one room, inside an institute. You've seen plenty of shadowhunters for a day."

"Tobio looked like he wanted to kill me."

"Don't mind him. He's as scary as a puppy who tries to bark. Besides, he looked at everyone like that. He doesn't know how to change him expression."

"Tetsurou said all of you were the best shadowhunters."

"Best in the region," Kei fixed him. "He was referring Tobio and Kiyoko. Tobio isn't dangerous in a way that he won't attack anyone unless it's during a fight. He is a great warrior. Kiyoko isn't just a good shadowhunter. She is among the best warriors in the shadowhunters' community. I'm not as good as them, I'm regular."

Tadashi was surprised this was the way Kei viewed himself. "I've seen you fight. You were so cool."

"I came after you made the demon swallow my sensor- thanks for that by the way. Tetsurou refuses to give me a new one."

"Sorry," apologized Tadashi, but not for the sensor. He felt he said something he shouldn't have.

They reached Tadashi's apartment. It's was as messy as they left it. No signs for his father's return. He lived there as long as he remembered. It hurt him seeing the apartment trashed. He hoped his father was safe. Even though the last time they spoke they were fighting, but it didn't mean Tadashi wouldn't search for him.

"Let's find something useful," he said in order to think of anything else.

"I talked with Tetsurou while you were sleeping," Kei mentioned. "He said the name sounds familiar and he would look into it. Is there anything that you father hid or something he refused to talk about?"

"No," Tadashi said immediately.

"There is no such thing as a person without secrets," Kei insisted. "Think. There must have been something your father acted weird about."

"I'd notice-" Tadashi started, but then stopped. He recalled a memory of his father kneeling on the floor. There was a shoe box in front of him. Before Tadashi could ask anything, Koushi hid it back and acted like nothing ever happened. Tadashi figured out it was something his father refused to talk about. "I think I've an idea."

Tadashi went towards his father's bedroom, Kei following behind him. Tadashi opened the closet. There were normal clothes, remained untouched. There few shoe boxes on the floor, nothing suspicious. There was a shoe box with the letter 'K' on it. Tadashi hesitated at first, as it was the first time he looked through his father's stuff. He took out the box and opened it. Inside there was a picture of a woman. It was black and white photo of a beautiful young woman on her wedding day. Tadashi could tell the dress wasn't white. There were few more photos of her, a young version of his father included. There were pictures of her pregnant. Koushi mentioned he was married and if what Daichi said was true, the woman in the pictures was that said woman.

"This is the first time I see those pictures."

"The runes turn in that fact they are shadowhunters," said Kei.

"Runes?" repeated Tadashi as a question.

"The marks on our bodies," explained Kei shortly. "Now, is there anything else we can find?"

"No," said Tadashi. "I think I'll take few clothes. I don't think Tobio would love that I wear his clothes."

"He only wears black; everything he wears is the same."

"I also want to take my sketchbook. And all my 'Kuroko No Basuke' volumes."

"Kuroko No what?"

"It's about magic and superhumans, only instead of applying runes on their bodies, they play basketball."

"Go ahead. I'll wait for you here."

Tadashi took his bag, now full of clothes and his sketches, and went down stairs. Kei suggested they would go back to the institute. Tadashi had no choice. He didn't have anywhere else to go. On their down, Tadashi passed through his neighbor's door, Lev. For a moment Tadashi wondered whether Lev knew what happened. Didn't he hear anything when the demon was in Tadashi's apartment? As if on a sign, Lev got out.

"Good afternoon, Tadashi," said Lev.

"Good afternoon," Tadashi greeted him back.

"I see you've been hanging with shadowhunters."

Tadashi wanted to be surprised, yet after everything, it was normal. He knew Lev's occupation was a wizard. An idea came to Tadashi's mind. "Lev, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, come inside." Lev went back inside, leaving the door open for Tadashi and Kei.

As Tadashi was ready to go in, he was stopped by Kei. "Are you sure it's a good idea? We should head back to the institute."

"Don't worry, it's Lev. He is my neighbor."

Kei wanted to comment about it, but then he changed his mind. Tadashi went inside with no problem, but Lev stopped Kei. "Just to be clear, no weapons inside allowed." Kei groaned, but he took his dagger out and put it next to the door. Kei tried again, only to be stopped. "I meant all you weapons." Kei rolled his eyes and took out a knife from his pocket, another dagger that was hidden under his pants and another knife hidden in his sleeve. The third time Kei tried to enter, Lev stooped him again.

"What is it now?"

Lev pointed down. "Your shoes." 

Kei took out the knife from his black boots. Tadashi wondered how Kei managed to carry all these weapons. "I feel naked," he remarked. He finally managed to enter Lev's apartment. It wasn't small, but with all the furniture and decorations there was little space left. The three sat in the living room around the small table. There was a crystal ball on the table.

"What is that?" asked Kei.

"It's a crystal ball, Tsuki," answered Tadashi.

"How obvious of you," Kei's voice was sarcastic, "I meant why he has it."

"It's a decoration," answered Lev. "It doesn't really work. I do card reading." He put a deck of cards on the table and scattered them.

"Card reading?" Kei repeated.

"Lev is a wizard," Tadashi explained.

"No he isn't."

"A Japanese warlock adopted me," Lev wasn't fazed by Kei accusation. "I'm originally from Russia. I don't speak Russian, but people ask me that a lot. He taught me everything I know."

"Why would-"

Kei stopped talking when Tadashi put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's hear what he got to say," suggested Tadashi. He looked at the cards. "They look nice."

"You father gave them to me," said Lev. "He said they were handmade."

Tadashi looked again at the cards. They couldn't be made by his father. "He couldn't draw a line."

Lev shrugged. "I didn't ask questions. I just accepted the gift."

Lev mixed the cards. Tadashi took a moment to choose, and then he picked a card. He turned it around and saw a drawing of a gold cup with different stones on it. He frowned. "Can I choose something else?"

"Go ahead," said Lev.  "You don't want to find out what it means, I won't persuade, but there is a reason why it's your choice."

Tadashi shrugged and chose a different card. This time, he picked a figure with no face holding a skull. Though the drawing was more symbolic, but it didn't predict anything good. He showed the card to Lev and Kei.

"That's a nice picture you got there," said Kei in a serious voice. Tadashi hoped he was talking about the art, since it was truly magnificent.

"There is something that bothers you," Lev deduced. "You're not sure about who you are and everything that's around you.  You don't know your past, so you don't know yourself."

"That sounds so stupid," said Kei. "Also it's very general. You can say everything except the first part about every teenage boy in his age."

Lev continued to smile, though his eyes said he sick of Kei's comments. "Well, in his case, he really doesn't remember anything. You know what, Mr. all talks, why don't you pick something."

Kei picked a random card without looking and gave it Lev. "Here you go, have fun reading me."

Lev showed the boys the card. It was a man inside the fire, pouring something that probably was oil. "The only one who curses you is you."

Kei got up. "As I expected, this was a waste of time. You just pick random lines every time someone picks a card."

"The pictures stay the same, but mean something different to every person."

Kei offered Tadashi a hand to get up, which Tadashi accepted. After getting up, Tadashi thanked Lev for the hospitality and glared at Kei for not doing so. Kei rolled his eyes and thanked Lev, though he really didn't want to.    

"Are you coming?" asked Kei, who was few steps ahead of him.

"Yes," Tadashi hurried to his side. Only when he climbed the stairs down, he remembered he didn't ask Lev about his father. Though he missed the opportunity, he knew Kei would be against it. He mentally promised himself to come back.

"Let's hurry, Kiyoko makes lunch today. You wouldn't want to miss that."

"You guys take turn in cooking?"

"No, just Kiyoko and Tetsurou, but she defiantly cooks better."

"TADASHI!" they heard a scream. Down the stairs he noticed a small and very angry Hitoka. "Where have you been!? Do you know how many times I've called you? You don't answer me, no one in your house answers me, Daichi is nowhere to be found and you're hanging around with a random punk from the street who bleaches his hair."

"My hair color is natural," Kei remarked.

Tadashi ignored Kei's comment. "I'm sorry, Hitoka, I can explain. Okay, maybe I actually can't-"

"Where were you in the last three days?" she crossed her arms together.

"I was in a safe place-" then something caught his attention. "Did you just say three days?" He turned to Kei. "I was unconscious for three days? I thought I only slept through the night!"

"You didn't ask, I didn't answer."

Tadashi averted his gaze from Kei to Hitoka. "I can't tell you what happened, but you have to trust me."

"How can I trust you? You barely answer any of my calls, it's like you're ignoring me…" Hitoka's expression wounded Tadashi. He didn't tell to protect her, but he still managed to hurt her. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how.

"Look, there is something I have to tell you." He took a deep breath, ready to tell her everything.

Until Kei intervened, "he was attacked by a demon, so I took him to the institute, which is where I live."

Hitoka looked at Kei as if he were crazy. "A… demon?"

"I'm a shadowhunter. We're covered with runes, we wear black and we aren't random punks from the street."

Hitoka turned to Tadashi. "What is he talking about?"

"He isn't crazy," Tadashi promised her. "Maybe he is, I don't know, I know him for a day-"

"Three days."

"- three days but whatever he says is true. I know, because I saw it. I know it's hard to believe. I still don't believe it myself."

"What-" Hitoka started by was interrupted by Kei.

"Can we do this in the institute? I don't have time for this."

On the way to the institute, Tadashi explained everything that happened to Hitoka. She didn't believe him, but she didn’t say anything about it. She must have thought he was going mad, and that it was Kei fault. It was wrong completely.

"Are sure you didn't mishear Daichi?" said Hitoka. "I doubt he would talk about Koushi or you like that. You three are like a family."

"That's what I thought… Lately, I'm not sure about anything." The last days were a roller coaster ride. Everything he knew changed.

"We are here," Kei announced.

Both Hitoka and Tadashi looked at the abandoned old building. Tadashi was convinced that they came from that spot, so how did it turn to a building? "I don't get it…"

"Watch closely," Kei ordered. Tadashi and Hitoka stared at the remnants for a while. After few seconds what appeared in front of them was an impressive structure designed in old gothic style. It was no doubt the institute. "We don't want to be found out, so we use glamour," Kei explained. "That's how we keep mundanes away. You think it's an old building you can pass by. We also apply glamour to ourselves so we wouldn't be seen. Just like the other night at Pandemonium."

"So… everything you said was true?!" Hitoka was amazed. Then she bowed. "I'm so sorry for not believing you!" Then she bowed to Kei. "I'm sorry for judging you for your appearance! I thought you're a scary delinquent."

"You don't think I'm scary anymore?"

"I'm sorry!" she repeated.

The three got inside the institute. As expected of Tadashi's lack of luck, Tobio was the one who greeted them. "Kei, I was about to-" he stopped once he laid his eyes on Hitoka. Tadashi could have sworn he was blushing. Tobio pointed at her. "What is that?"

"That's a girl," said Kei. "I'm sure you've seen one before. Kiyoko is one."

"No, I meant why did you bring another mundane?" this time Tobio sounded angry and Hitoka his behind Tadashi, who was ready to protect her if anything happened.

"The more, the merrier," Kei faked a smile which made Tobio even angrier.

Tadashi heard Hitoka whisper behind him. "What is a mundane?"

"This is how they call humans," Tadashi explained to her.

Tobio turned to Tadashi. "Tetsurou was looking for you. He is in the kitchen."

Tobio turned away before Tadashi could ask any farther questions. Lucky for him, Kei showed him the way. "You can tell Tetsurou about the box. Maybe it will help."

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" asked Hitoka. "I think I made this guy angry."

"Don't worry about Tobio. Even a sheet of paper makes him angry."

"You refer to each other by your first name?" she asked out of curiosity. Looking back, Tadashi's mind was too busy to notice that simple detail. Japanese people called others by their last name, unless they were familiar with each other. Kei and Tobio seemed to bicker all the time, but they still talked without formalities.

"Shadowhunters don't exactly follow the rules of mundanes."

They reached the kitchen, where Kiyoko was mixing something; Tadashi guessed it was soup, in the casserole. On the table there was rice, salad and pork chops- everything smelled good. Tetsurou was sitting beside the table. He was too surprised to see Hitoka. "Kei, you should stop bringing abandoned cats from the street," he said, though he didn't look angry.

"She was in our way, I had to bring her," Kei explained. "I'm sorry."

Tadashi felt his stomach growl. "Shall we eat now?"

Tetsurou got up, "No lunch for you yet, Kei's mundane."

Kei's face reddened. "He isn't my-"

Tetsurou ignored him. "We are heading to the library." He approached to Hitoka and took her arm. He pressed a kiss on her hand and she was shocked by the gesture. "Welcome to our institute. I'm Kuroo Tetsurou if you need anything. Why don’t you eat with us and then Tobio will show you the place?"

"Kiyoko should do it," suggested Tobio. He didn't want to be around her for some reason Tadashi couldn't tell.

Hitoka was a little offended by Tobio's words. He didn't welcome her properly and she already felt she offended him in a way. However, Kiyoko introduced herself and brightened Hitoka's mood. "I'd love that. I'm Shimizu Kiyoko, you can call me Kiyoko, I don't mind."

"I'm Yachi Hitoka," she stuttered, "nice to meet you. You can call me Hitoka."

"Aren't we all friends?" Tetsurou called. He grabbed Tadashi's hand. "Now, let's go to the library. There is something I want to show you."

"What is it?" asked Tadashi.

"I have found information about your father."

Chapter Text

When Tetsurou said they were going to the library, Tadashi imagined whatever a normal person would imagine. He imagined shelves full of books and maybe a chair in case one wanted to read. However, when he went inside the library, he was amazed the room was far beyond what he imagined. The moment he stepped in, he already smelled the scent of old books mixed with new ones. There were rows filled with books until there was no space in between. He read some of the titles- there were all sort of type of fiction, written in different times.

"So you like to read?" asked Tetsurou.

"Yes, how did you guess?"

"It was your expression when you came in that turned you in." said Tetsurou. "You know who else likes reading?"

"Stop it," Kei required.

It wasn't hard to notice that Kei didn't treat Tetsurou like the others. If Tobio were here, Kei would tease him. Kei acted differently next to Tetsurou. He wondered what their relationship was. "There are a lot of things Tsuki didn't tell me about."

Tetsurou stopped walking and Tadashi almost bumped into him. The messy haired guy turned around with and he looked like he heard a juicy gossip. "Say that again." He could hear Kei groan.

"There are a lot of things Tsuki-"

"Tsuki," Tetsurou interrupted, laughing and crying at the same time. "You almost stoned me when I called you that."

Blushing, he turned to face Kei, whose face was also red. "Can we go on?" Kei walked fast past the other two guys.

Tetsurou didn't stop laughing until they reach the end of the library. At the end there was a stair case that led to the upper shelves. Just before the stair case there was a long table and some chairs around it. Tetsurou sat by one of end, wiping a tear from his eye. "This is just keeps getting better."

"Are you done?" said annoyed Kei.

"No, but right now it's not the time," Tetsurou replied. He looked at the documents at lying on the table. He took out an old photo and handed it to Tadashi. "When Kei told me your father's name, I immediately thought I recognized it. We, the shadowhunters, have our own country, even though we are scattered around. It's named Idris, and there is only one city, Alicante, where shadowhunters go to school."

"What do Shadowhunters study? The anatomy of demons or throwing knives 101?" Tadashi raised an eyebrow.

"That's exactly it," Tetsurou said and Tadashi couldn't tell if he was honest or just messing with him. "Anyway I looked at a class of a certain year and I think your father is in the picture."

There were at least twenty students in the photo; however, it didn't take Tadashi a long time before he recognized a young version of his father. He looked a little bit older than Tadashi. It was the first time he saw Koushi with runes and dressed as a shadowhunter. Next to him stood a young version of Daichi. If it wasn't for Daichi's betrayal, Tadashi would smile upon seeing that photo.

"Dad never showed me pictures of him younger," he said excited. "It's hard to imagine him with runes. He never said anything about being a shadowhunter."

"If he wanted to hide it from you, no wonder he never said anything," said Kei.

"The one standing next to him was his parabatai," continued Tetsurou. "Parabatai are Shadowhunters who fight together as lifelong partners. A shadowhunter may only choose only one parabatai in their lifetime and cannot perform the ritual more than once. Like marriage bond, the parabatai bond is broken only by the death of one of the members of the partnership."

No wonder why Koushi and Daichi were so close. He couldn't imagine the two as comrades in battle, but they were defiantly more than just friends. "What happens when parabatai betrays the other?"

"Impossible," Tetsurou claimed. "The bond is too strong. They are like partners in crime, but close as brothers."

"That's a terrible way to put it," Kei said. "Shadowhunters' relationships are much stronger than mundanes'."

He thought about the relationship between Daichi and Koushi. If they were that close… "Parabatai can be a romantic relationship?"

"Of course not, it's a taboo. It is forbidden for parabatai to be in a romantic relationship."

"Is there anything else you can say about him?" Tadashi required. There was so much he didn't know about his father, he couldn't help himself. He handed Tetsurou the box in his bag, with the person Koushi once chose to be romantically involved. "Maybe this will help."

Tetsurou opened the box. He took a moment to look at the pictures, to see if there was anything he could learn from. He pointed at a woman in the photo, one of Koushi's classmates. "That's probably her. She was his wife." He was quite for a moment, considering what he should tell Tadashi. "I wonder if anyone said that parabatai also share the same fate," he said at the end.

"Nobody said that," confirmed Kei.

"What do you mean by that?" Tadashi wondered.

Tetsurou pointed at another woman. She was had big brown eyes and short brown. She was short and looked cute. "That woman is Michimiya Yui. At least that was her name before marrying Daichi. Both Koushi and Daichi married shortly after graduation. Koushi's wife, Mayumi, gave birth after a year, but the baby was stillborn, even though it was healthy. Yui at that time was pregnant too."

"You sure know a lot about their history," Tadashi remarked. Tetsurou must have been a little older that Tadashi and Kei.

"That's because it was a very interesting year. I studied everything that happened. The silent brothers have a great knowledge."

"The silent brothers?" he should've read the book Kei gave him. There were many terms he wasn't familiar with.

Tetsurou also forgot that Tadashi was just recently introduced to the world of shadowhunter. "The brothers serve as the keepers of knowledge. They are the librarians, researchers and the medics for the Nephilim. They are useful, but we don't have one around. I do know one who has always helped us. They have the information about every shadowhunter that ever lived."

"I think he should know what happened that year," Kei intervened.

"Sorry, I got distracted," Tetsurou looked at the books. "Anyway, Mayumi had a twin brother, Saito Hiroki. He was popular at that time. Everyone loved him… However, he was quite radical. He believed shadowhunters were superior to anyone, including the downworlders. He created the Circle, which was a group of followers who believed in him. Mayumi believed in her brother, which meant Koushi had no choice but following her and Daichi was dragged along to. Both of them, along with Yui, didn't agree with Hiroki's way."

"How far did Hiroki go?" Tadashi was never interested in history as he was that moment. If he was raised as a shadowhunter, would he learn this?

"Hiroki broke the Accords, which is a treaty between shadowhunters and downworlders that is meant to protect each side from harming the other. Needless to say, it was an ugly war. Mayumi died while protecting her husband. Yui died too, however she died in a fire. Even though she was pregnant, there was no baby. The report said they died with the mother. Hiroki's wife died too and Hiroki wasn't anywhere to be found along with his son.

"It is rumored Hiroki stole the mortal cup. It was given to the first shadowhunter that was created by the angel Raziel. It was given to Jonathan Shadowhunter to create more shadowhunters. I don't know why Hiroki needed the mortal cup, but it is sacred to us. It's one of the three mortal instruments that were given to Jonathan Shadowhunter. The mortal cup is the only way to turn a mundane into a shadowhunter."

"You sure know a lot," remarked Kei.

"True, I'll send Takeda a bouquet," said Tetsurou.

Tadashi tried to think about what he knew so far. Daichi mentioned Hiroki's name. "Why would Hiroki come back for my father?"

Tetsurou suddenly got up dramatically. "I'm glad you asked!"

"You just waited for a chance to do this, didn't you?"

"See, Kei, this is why I chose you as my Parabatai." Hearing that made Tadashi feel a relief, even though he didn't know why. He barely knew Kei, so why was he so happy to know that was the connection between the two? Tetsurou opened another book. Without explaining anything, he just gave him the book open. It was another year book. "Notice this cutie," he pointed at a picture. It was a picture of a teenage girl, around Tadashi's age. Her brown hair reached her shoulders; only one hair was sticking up against gravity. She had big brown eyes and few freckles covered her cheeks.

Tadashi was so focused on the picture; he didn't notice Kei was close to him. "She looks exactly like you."

"And the best part is," Tetsurou stopped for a moment for the dramatic effect, "her name was Yamaguchi Naoko."

If Kei didn't take the book away from Tadashi, the latter would drop it to the floor. "Are you saying she is my mother?"

"She was the last one in line, or that's what I thought." Tetsurou looked proud at himself.

Tadashi understood what Tetsurou's conclusion was. "You think Hiroki is after my father because he is my biological father?" His mother was dead and his father was a radical lunatic. No wonder Koushi ever told him that history.

"I guess there is a family drama involved. Hiroki's body was never found. The clave, our authority, claimed he was dead. Now we have a reason to think otherwise."

During lunch, Tadashi ate his food quietly. He lost his appetite after Tetsurou's history lesson, but Kei forced him to eat something, otherwise he would regret it later. To Kei's credit, he didn't talk and asked him annoying questions like whether he was okay or not. He didn't try to force a conversation either, another thing Tadashi was grateful of.

He tried to think whether there were signs that he missed or Koushi managed to hide everything from him. Maybe that was the reason why he wasn't allowed to read or watch fantasy movies, but it sounded ridiculous, even to him.

By the time he finished eating; Hitoka, Kiyoko and Tobio came back. "You're not going to believe it!" she announced excited. "Kiyoko just told me about shadowhunters, werewolves, vampire-" Tadashi couldn't figure the rest since she talked too fast.

"Tsuki already told me briefly," he said, smiling at Kei. The latter averted his gaze.

"Tsuki?!" said both Kiyoko and Tobio at the same time. Neither of them tried to hide they astonishment. That was a better reaction than Tetsurou's at least.

"No comment," said Kei simply. Was he embarrassed by the nickname Tadashi gave him?

Tadashi turned to Hitoka, "Kei said I might be a shadowhunter."

"How did he reach that conclusion?" asked Tobio.

"I applied an iritaze on him and it worked," explained Kei.

"So you had a good guess, but applying healing rune on mundanes can drive them crazy or even kill them," said Kiyoko.

"It's true, Tsuki?!"

Kei looked indifferent. "Don't worry, I was ninety percent sure it would work."

"What about the other ten percent?!" asked Tadashi worriedly.

"You're not optimistic type, aren't you?"

Hitoka frowned. "You didn't tell me you're a shadowhunter!"

"I had no idea myself!" Tadashi defended himself. "Only recently I started seeing things."

Kiyoko intervened. "The night we first met- we applied glamour on us, but you still saw us. Was it the first time you saw a shadowhunter?"

Tadashi nodded. "It was the first time I saw someone killing a demon, or a demon at all."

"There are mundanes that are born with the Sight," Tobio said. "They are aware of that at the very beginning. It doesn't just pop later."

Kei changed his expression and got up. Without saying a word, he walked away. The four teens left just stared at him confused.

Though he didn't want to think of the institute as his new home, Tadashi put everything he brought with him in the room that was given to him. It was a bit dusty so he had to clean it. There was a bed, a closet, a night drawer and a lamp on it. There was everything that was needed for the night. Maybe he could decorate it, make it feel less empty. However, what he had in mind was finding his father as quickly as he could, so it was all temporary.

He put some clothes in the closet after changing what he was wearing. Tobio would probably want his clothes back. The closet looked empty since he didn't bring much with him.

The door opened and Kei burst in. "I like what you did with this place."

Tadashi put on a smile. "Thanks, I thought about the design."

Kei threw a jacket towards him. "You're going to need this to where we are going."

"Where are we going?" Did they plan something and Tadashi forgot?

"To a lovely place underground called 'Bone City'. You'll understand when we get there."

"Why are we going to a place that's called 'Bone City?'"

"There is a reason why only now you're starting seeing things. Someone made sure you wouldn't be able to see them."

Tadashi was confused. "But… I don't remember someone taking away my ability to see… things."

"Exactly, we are going to get your memories back."

"So- you admit Lev was right?"

"Over my dead body."

Chapter Text

The idea of losing his memories didn't seem so crazy, as ridiculous as it sounded. Kei didn't tell him much about the place they were going, only that they should wait outside the institute. Hitoka already went home- as much as he wanted to, she couldn't stay in the institute with him.

While they were waiting, Tadashi tried to make a small talk. "So… do you have parents?"

"No, I was hatched from an egg," Kei sounded a little annoyed by the question.

"Sorry, Tsuki," he regretted asking anything. Kei was a mystery to him that he would never uncover. That was the end of the conversation that never started, but Tadashi didn't mind. The silence was comfortable. Kei's presence made him feel safe, which was relaxing.

"Here is our ride," Kei pointed at the end of the street. Tadashi looked at the direction and saw a black limousine driving towards them. As it approached, Tadashi could see the windows were black too, it was impossible to through. However, when the vehicle stopped in front of the two, something felt out of place. He looked at Kei, who smirked. "Watch closely."

The black limousine slowly turned into a carriage that looked like Cinderella's, only colored black. Everything was pitch black. On the driver's seat there was a figure covered in a robe, their face hidden. There were runes on the robe and Tadashi had a feeling that wasn't a human. The two horses on the front were black too. Were shadowhunters against colors?

The inside of the carriage was all black. Kei got up first, Tadashi following him. They started moving and Tadashi wondered whether anyone would notice them. However, everyone ignored the black carriage and the black horses on the road that drove in a speed of a regular vehicle.

"How come everyone ignores us?" asked Tadashi.

"For obvious reasons, we don't want to be seen, so we put glamour," explained Kei.

"I can see you or anything else."

"It's because you are more aware now."

"It gives me a little headache though."

"It's because you're not marked."

Kei gave him the 'Shadowhunter Codex' to learn about the Shadowhunters' world, but he wasn't annoyed when Tadashi constantly asked him questions. Not to mention, Kei saved his life and made sure Tadashi was protected. He showed him the institute when he had nowhere to go. "Thank you," said Tadashi.

"For what?" Kei raised an eyebrow. 

"For taking care of me," Tadashi said shyly. He felt nervous for saying it out loud.

Kei, however, didn't change his expression. "I only did my job. It may not look like it, but Shadowhunters suppose to protect mundanes."

"But you said I'm a shadowhunter."

"Then you should learn to be one."

Tadashi couldn't argue with that. He knew very little about the world and all his information came from people's answers. Suddenly, the carriage took a sharp turn to the left. Though Kei managed to remain stable, Tadashi on the hand was thrown towards Kei. The blond caught him and Tadashi could sense Kei's scent- strawberries. Blushing, Tadashi went back to his place. He had to get his act together because it became weird.

"We are here," announced Kei. They entered a graveyard. They drove through the path that divided the graveyard into two. Abruptly, the carriage stopped. "We are about to enter the Silent City," reminded him Kei. "Tetsurou informed them we are coming. They will help you to get your memories."

"How exactly are they going to do that?" wondered Tadashi. Why must he ask the important questions later?

Kei shrugged. He opened the door and got out. Tadashi followed him, jumping off the carriage. After jumping, he noticed Kei holding out his hand in order to help Tadashi. "I could just you," he said.

"Why?" Tadashi wondered.

The driver was standing next to them. Tadashi didn't even hear him move. "This is a silent brother," explained Kei.

Standing next to a silent brother made feel uneasiness. You're the one who lost their memory? He heard the voice echoing inside his head, though he wasn't sure anyone was talking. Kei didn't seem fazed by that and Tadashi assumed it was normal. Tadashi simply nodded. Come with me.

There was a cold wind blowing through the trees making shiver. They walked until the end of the graveyard. They stopped in front of a statue of an angel; their face was beautiful, yet serious. On the base there was a date inscribed, 1234, and around it the words 'Nephilim: Fecilis Descensus Averni.'

"What does it say?" asked Tadashi.

"Shadowhunters, looking better in black than the widows of our enemies since 1234," Kei translated.

Tadashi turned to the brother for the actual meaning. The descent into Hell is easy.

"That's… sounds nice," Tadashi tried to laugh, but it came dry.

"It's the brothers' private joke," said Kei.

The silent brother took out a stele from his pocket and drew a rune on the angel's head. Its eyes glowed and a passage opened. The boys followed the silent brother. They entered an ally of stone walls. Tadashi nearly stumbled and bumped into Kei. "Sorry, it's dark in here a little bit."

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Kei teased.

"Don't look down on me."

Tadashi could see names on the walls, dates underneath them. "Are those tombstones?"

No one is buried here. There is a large cemetery in Idris where most of the shadowhunters are buried. The blood and the bones of a shadowhunter can be used as a protection against demons themselves, so shadowhunters who die in a battle are cremated and the ashes are used to protect our ground.

That sounded exhausting to Tadashi. Even after death, shadowhunters had to keep fighting. It reminded him of Valhalla in the Norse Mythology. Learning that the silent brothers were responsible for the archives of shadowhunters, Tadashi couldn't help but imagine a huge library filled with books, just like the one in the institute. "Where is the archive?"

"The silent city has many levels," said Kei.

"There are the dorms?"

"What dorms?"

"You know… where the silent brothers sleep." He waited for an answer, but none came. He already concluded what it meant.

"Aren't the silent brothers humans?"

The silent brother that guided them stopped walking and turned around to face Tadashi. Then, he uncovered his face. Tadashi wanted to scream. His face was pale; his head shaved and look like an egg. His mouth was sawn with medical stitches.

"Silent brothers used to be shadowhunters," explained Kei. "They forget about their pasts and live an immortal life to protect the archive."

"Do you remember you human name?" Tadashi dared to ask.

The brother covered his face. I do not. Turning to a silent brother, I was given the name David.

There was a group of silent brothers in the room and a stone table. One of the brothers in the group approached to him. His voice was cheerful, unlike David's. He also sounded nice and friendly. You must be Tadashi.

"Nice to meet you," he bowed slightly.

I talked with Tetsurou. He told me about your condition.

"Is it really my memory?" asked Tadashi worriedly. "Can you help restore it?"

We can, but it means to go inside you mind.

Tadashi was taken aback. He didn't want a bunch of strangers to go through his brain, like it was a book. The idea was a bit scary.

"What are you waiting for?" Kei sounded impatient. "Didn't you want to do this to help your father?"

"Just a minute, if someone goes through my mind, I want to be ready." The silent brother, who introduced himself as Takeda, told him to take his time. He instructed him to lie down on the stone table once he was ready. He gathered his strength and took a deep breath. He took a step forward. Kei said: "I'm here." He just meant he was also there in the same room, but for Tadashi it was comforting to know Kei was there too. Then again, lately he doesn't remember a moment when Kei wasn't there. Tadashi nodded and went to the table. He lied down and found himself surrounded by a group of silent brothers. Their faces were covered by their hoods.

Takeda was the one who committed the ritual. What is your full name?

"Yamaguchi Tadashi," the boy answered.

Tell us about yourself Yamaguchi Tadashi.

"I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi, a fifteen year old, turning sixteen in three days. I live with my adoptive father-" His vision was blurry and he felt as if something was taking all his breath out of his body. Then everything was black. Visions slowly came to his mind, like an old movie he didn't remember he ever watched.

He remembered staring at Daichi, who looked a bit younger and tired. He also looked like a mess, with a beard that didn't fit him at all. He could hear his father stopping everything he did in the kitchen and coming to the front. He could hear his father's voice saying: "Daichi, I thought you were dead."

Another vision. This he was playing happily with a small creature with purple wings that sparkled and his father screaming with horror.

The following memory happened years later. They were out during the rain, and Tadashi refused to go with his father. Koushi insisted it was for his own good and dragged Tadashi to a tall building in their neighborhood. They climbed the stairs until they reached the last floor. The sign on one of the doors said "Kozume Kenma."

Suddenly he felt the air going back to his lungs and he opened his eyes wide. He found himself breathing heavily, on the floor, his left shoulder hurt. He was bleeding. He held on to the table, slowly getting up.

There is a block inside your mind, said Takeda. We can't pass through it.

"A block?!" Tadashi repeated. "What am I supposed to do now?"

I believe the answer was in one of your memories.

He recalled the sign on the door. "Is it Kozume Kenma?"

I don't know for sure, but the answer is in your mind.

Though it wasn't helpful, Tadashi thanked the brothers.

Brother David was the one who escorted them out of silent city. He thought they would go back to the institute on the carriage that brought them there, but apparently Kei had other plans.

"Kiyoko texted me they went out," said the blond. "We are taking a cab."

Tadashi didn't mind, it would be nice to go out. Deep down he was glad Kei included him too. As they were waiting for a taxi, Tadashi noticed how teenage girls were staring at Kei. They all admired his good looks, though he seemed to be indifferent. Then, Tadashi wondered whether Kei had a girlfriend. He was handsome and probably everyone's type. He would be the type to date someone as gorgeous as Kiyoko. Kei treated her nicely. Then again so far he was only mean to Tobio most of the times. Tadashi mentally slapped himself. He let his thought go too far.

He didn't realize he was day dreaming until Kei's voice didn't snap his train of thought. "Are going to stand there?" said annoyed Kei, who was already sitting inside a taxi.

"Sorry," Tadashi apologized and got inside the vehicle too. Kei gave the driver the address and the latter started driving.

"Where are we going?" asked Tadashi.

"A restaurant," answered Kei without much explaining, which wasn't surprising since Kei wasn't talkative. At least he was given an answer.

The drive was less than ten minutes long. They stopped by a place that was far from the center of the city, called Taki. The place was crowded. Something felt out of place. He looked around, everyone looked normal at first. However, Tadashi was quick to realize what the problem was. "Hey, Tsuki," he whispered to Kei, "is everyone here…"

"Yes, this place is crowded with downworlders," Kei said out loud. No one seemed to mind though.

There were booths next to the walls. Kiyoko stood up and waved them. The two boys walked towards the table. Tetsurou and Tobio were there too. He didn't expect one guest though.

"Hitoka?! I thought you went home," he didn't try to hide his shock. She was seating between Tobio and Kiyoko, defiantly stands out wearing her school uniform and no runes on her small body.

"I called her," explained Kiyoko. "It's nice to have another girl around."

"Tobio thinks so too," said Tetsurou while looking through the menu.

"I didn't say anything," Tobio claimed, his face blushing.

Kei sat next to Tetsurou and Tadashi next to him. Even though they were a large group, there was enough place for everyone. Something caught Tadashi's attention. Every shadowhunter sat next to him was wearing a ring on their finger, everyone except Kei. One every ring there was a letter on it, which Tadashi realized was the first letter of their last name. Each one was designed differently, and also fitted them. 

Tetsurou gave Tadashi the menu. "I already decided what I want."

Tadashi randomly opened the menu and looked at the dishes. There were different types of blood. "I… don't think we have the right menu," he remarked.

"This place is popular among downworlders," explained Kei.

Tadashi turned the page and saw relatively normal food. "That's for the faeries. You don't want to order from here," interfered Tetsurou.

"I don't?" asked Tadashi confused.

"Oh no, faeries food isn't good for humans. It's like drugs to them and you can't remember what you do. One minute you eat a sandwich, the next one you run naked in Akihabara, wearing antlers on your head." After a short moment, Tetsurou added, "not that it happened to me…"

"Just order what you would usually order in a normal place," suggested Kei.

 A waiter approached to them, his tag name said 'Kunimi'. The minute Kunimi saw Tobio; the short black haired guy frowned. "Can I take your order?" he said bitterly.

Everyone ordered- Kiyoko had to order for Tobio who refused to talk- and Tadashi asked for two plates of fries. Kei order a strawberry short cake, which surprised Tadashi a bit. He never took him as guy with a sweet tooth.

"I think he hates us," comment Tadashi.

"No, just Tobio," said Kei. "Tobio doesn't get along with the faeries."

"It's not that I have something against them," explained Tobio. "I just don't like their king in particular."

"You met the faeries king?! What is he like?" asked Hitoka excitedly.

Tobio's expression got darker. "He is a devious bastard, that's what he is like. Since he can't lie he would make sure to twist the truth. He isn't that smart though. He has a great haircut. He is far worse than Kei."

Even though Kei wasn't offended, Tadashi didn't know why Tobio referred that way to the blond. Kei was anything but nice to Tadashi in the past days.

"That's old news," Tetsurou spoke up. "I wonder about silent city. Did Take-chan treat you well?"

"It didn't help," sighed Tadashi. "The only thing that I got was a name- Kozume Kenma."

Kiyoko's eyes opened widely and she searched for something in her pocket. "The name sounds familiar." She took out a folded sheet of paper and unfolded it. "Recently, I got an invitation for a party. Apparently, there are many parties that are held in his apartment, but no one had ever seen him."

"So he is like the kid in family dinners who sits in a corner playing video games, but only in his own parties?" asked Kei.

Kiyoko nodded. "It is said he is powerful warlock and expensive."

Tetsurou took the invitation. "It's tomorrow. Let's go together!"

Tadashi looked at the invitation. He was going to a warlock's party, who might not even be there. He hoped he was one step closer to find his father.     

Chapter Text

He tried to fall asleep but in vain. He couldn't lie down for one second without trying to change his position. He tried to lie to himself that he was sleeping, but it didn't convince his body. Tadashi decided to get up. He should explore the institute. He slid into his sleepers- given to him by Kei. He walked aimlessly, trying to remember where the library was. At some point he realized he got lost. He heard a music playing in the distance. Curious, he led the music lead him to its source. There was light coming out one of the rooms. Tadashi picked inside and saw Kei, with his back to Tadashi, playing a piano. The room itself was like a living room, with a small library and comfortable chairs to sit on.

Kei didn't notice Tadashi approaching. Tadashi didn't want to interrupt. Kei was playing a melody Tadashi didn't recognize, but he played it perfectly. Tadashi just watched for a while until Kei finished playing. Forgetting he was supposed to be quite, he clapped. This made Kei jump and Tadashi to blush in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Tsuki," apologized Tadashi. "I had no idea you can play this well on the piano."

"Why are awake?" asked Kei, ignoring Tadashi's comment, but he didn't sound angry.

"I couldn't fall asleep…" Tadashi admitted. "Also, I got lost."

Kei got up. "I'll show you the way."

While they were walking in the halls of the institute, Tadashi wondered about the things he knew about Kei. Tetsurou told him Kei liked to read and a moment ago he learnt Kei could play the piano. Kei also refused to talk about his family. At moments like this, he wished his father was there to give him a little guidance.

Kei stopped in front of a door. "Here you go."

"Thanks, but I still can't sleep." His thoughts about his father and his well being didn't stop bothering him.

"Well, what do you want me to do, read you a bed time story?"

Though he knew Kei was joking, Tadashi still nodded. "Yes, please." Tadashi entered the room, leaving the door open and entered the bed. He moved a little bit so there would place for Kei. Kei hesitated at first, surprised by Tadashi's answer, but then he entered the room, closing the door behind him. He lied down beside Tadashi, his arms crossed, thinking seriously about a story. This time, being so close to Kei didn't feel as awkward as the first time.

"Okay, do you want to hear a popular shadowhunters story?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Well then, once upon a time there was a happy family. Two shadowhunters were happily married and had two sons."

"That sounds like a nice beginning."

"One day, the younger brother watched his older brother die in front of him-"

Tadashi cut Kei's sentence. "Please tell anything beside horror."

"I don't really know any stories to tell. Most of the things that I read are poetry."

"Then… is there a poem you remember?"

Kei recited the poem so well; Tadashi wondered how many times he repeated it.

In the desert

I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

Who, squatting upon the ground,

Held his heart in his hands,

And ate of it.

I said, "Is it good, friend?"

"It is bitter - bitter," he answered;

"But I like it

"Because it is bitter,

"And because it is my heart."

"Great," Tadashi said sarcastically, "I can't fall asleep and now I have nightmares."

"You asked for it."

The following day, Tadashi spent his time reading the 'Shadowhunter Codex' learning more about the world he recently found out. The more he learnt, the more he wondered what the reason his father decided to hide it from him was. Tadashi was always fascinated with fantasy, his father knew it. Hell, he could randomly run into a demon and he wouldn't know what to do.

Later in the evening, he noticed Hitoka was in the institute too, only dress in a short pink dress with short sleeves that reached her knees. "Hitoka-chan," he called out to her.

"Tadashi- kun," she called happily, "I'm glad to see you're okay."

He felt confused by Hitoka's statement. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I think it's because you're going through so much lately, I'm worried you'd get into trouble again," she said, blushing. Tadashi couldn't help but admiring how cute she looked.

Kiyoko emerged from halls, her hair collected in a bun. "I see you're already here, Hitoka-chan."

Hitoka turned to Tadashi to explain. "We decided to meet together to get ready for the party." She apologized for shortening their conversation, and went away with Kiyoko. The girls bonded quickly. Then again, Tadashi couldn't think about anyone who met Hitoka and didn't become friends with her. Both of them were shy, but Hitoka made friends a lot quicker than him. He didn't really make any friends, yet Kei was the one he was the closest to.

He went to his room. He tried to find something decent to wear, but when he grabbed random clothes, he didn't consider taking something suitable for a party. The only one in the institute who was the same size as him was Tobio. However, Tobio was quite scary and Tadashi didn't think the raven haired guy liked him. Tadashi took a deep breath and searched for Tobio's room. He had to go to the party; he had to find any clue for his father's whereabouts.

Lucky for him, Tobio was out in the hall. He was holding a bow in one of his hands. Tadashi shyly approached to him. "Excuse me, but can I ask you for a favor?"

"What is it?" Tobio's voice wasn't as hostile as Tadashi expected it to be. In fact, he sounded like a normal person. Tobio probably failed at leaving a good first impression on people, Tadashi concluded.

"Can I borrow some clothes for tonight? Hitoka will scold me if I wear one of the shabby clothes I have with me."

Tobio nodded and Tadashi followed him to his room. Tobio's room was simple, without much furniture and just a little bit messy. Tadashi noticed a volleyball lying in the corner. Tadashi picked up the ball. "Do you like to play volleyball?"

"Not really," answered Tobio, "I'm a shadowhunter, we exactly have sport events. There aren't many in the institute I can play with." Suddenly Tobio's expression changed to one of curiosity. "Do you play?"

"Yes, I wanted to join art class, but we didn't have one in school, so I decided to join volleyball."

"And what do you think about the game?"

"I'm not very good at it, but it is fun."

There was a spark in Tobio's eyes. He approached Tadashi and grabbed his shoulders. "What is your position?! Are you a setter? Aren't setters the coolest? How long do you play?" Tobio asked him so many questions at once, Tadashi couldn't follow.

Someone knocked on the door before opening it. Tetsurou walked in, surprised to see Tadashi in Tobio's room. "I see you two get along. Did you guys talk about volleyball?"

Tadashi nodded, while Tobio proudly said, "yes!" There was no doubt volleyball was his favorite hobby.

"That's nice, but you need to get ready," said the head of the institute. "We wouldn't want to make the ladies wait."

Hitoka had known Tadashi ever since they were little kids, still the idea of him being a part of the world of shadowhunters. When he took her to the institute, she was surprised by the shadowhunters. They were so tall and impressive. Tobio especially impressed her with look. The combination of blue eyes and black hair was so unique, she wished he would smile every once in a while. He wasn't just handsome, he was beautiful.

While Tadashi was studying about his past, Kiyoko and Tobio showed her around. She learnt vampires, werewolves, faeries and warlocks were real, that demons were a real threat and zombies didn't exist- thank god for that, because there was something terrifying about dead people coming back to life.

She got friendly with Kiyoko which surprised her. Kiyoko was a stunning woman; she defiantly was more beautiful than Hitoka, not mentioning she was sexy too. Hitoka just didn't compare to her. After living with such a beautiful woman, Tobio probably didn't find anything special about her. Not that it mattered. It was Tadashi's world, not hers. But, after meeting the shadowhunters, will he still want her around? Not only there was nothing special about her, she was a mundane. She had no place in his new life. The minute Tadashi would find his father, the two would-

"Hitoka-chan," Kiyoko interrupted her thoughts, "are you okay?"

"Yes," Hitoka lied. "It's just… I'm sorry I'm forcing myself on you guys."

Kiyoko smiled. "You're not forcing yourself. Like I said, I'm surrounded by these guys; it's rare I find a girl- friend that I get along with. Besides, you're Tadashi-kun's friend, aren't you?" She couldn't see what Kiyoko was doing to her hair, but it felt like she was braiding it.

Hitoka understood Kiyoko. "I also don't have a lot of girls I'm friends with. But aren't you bothered by having a mundane in the institute? Tobio looked angry with me."

She heard Kiyoko giggling. "Ever since you two came to the institute, things got a lot more interesting, so I'm not complaining. I don't think Tetsurou complains too."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've never seen Tobio and Kei being so… How can I explain it? I think Tobio doesn't know how to approach new people, it will take him time to get used to you. Kei is a different story."

Hitoka knew Kei was the blond that Tadashi was around. "Why is he different? Doesn't he want Tadashi to learn about the world?"

"Kei doesn't like talking to people. He acts like he doesn't want people to care about him, so he doesn't show care. He is acting differently when Tadashi is around. I've never seen him interested in someone. He even refuses to fight with his parabatai, which is ridiculous."

"Why is he interested in Tadashi?"

"I don't know, but your friend was the first one who made Kei show any human emotions." Though her words didn't sound like that, Kiyoko sounded happy, without malice in her voice.

Tetsurou words were pointless because when Tadashi came, only the guys were ready. He was surprised though. Tadashi wore a pair of black jeans and a white buttoned shirt. It wasn't a fancy look, but it was better than ripped jeans and "avengers" shirt. Kei, however, wore a grey buttoned shirt tucked inside his jeans. It was simple, but elegant.

"Considering you're wearing Tobio's clothes," said Kei, "you look not bad."

Tadashi blushed- it wasn't everyday a guy gave him a compliment like that, especially not as hot as Kei. Tadashi changed the subject, so he wouldn't show his embarrassment. "I had no idea you wear glasses."

"They are fake," he pointed at the new accessory. "I usually put them on when I go out without glamour. Shadowhunters' senses are five times better than mundanes."

"So it's a disguise?" asked Tobio.

"Well, that would be one hell of a stupid disguise, Hollywood," Kei teased and Tadashi didn't understand why it made Tobio angry.

The girls joined them. Kiyoko herself looked beautiful in a mini sleeve less green dress, but Hitoka… She applied little make up on her face and her hair was braided professionally. It was a drastic change, but that all it took to make her look stunning. "Cute," both Tadashi and Tobio mumbled. Both of them looked embarrassed. Tetsurou gave a pat on the pack. "May I say both girls looked great tonight?"

Hitoka nodded shyly and the rest kept quite. "Great, now let's head the road! We have a warlock's party to attend."

Kenma's apartment wasn't far away. They walked together, Tadashi and Kei walked in faster than the rest. Kei's glamour made him visible to others this time, only his runes weren't shown. Still he looked handsome and every time they passed a group of teenage girls, they reacted like those they saw next to the silent city.

"You know… A lot of girls have been staring at you- I mean, checking you," Tadashi couldn't believe he let it slip out. He probably sounded so stupid.

"Why wouldn't they?" Kei sounded nonchalant.  Kei was aware of himself very much. Maybe he got used to it. Tadashi would feel awkward if someone stared at him like that. He wasn't as cool as Kei.

"I read almost the entire codex," Tadashi mentioned. "Does it mean I can get runes too?"

"You can't get runes just by reading a book. You have to train, too. A shadowhunter gets his first rune around the age of twelve. Except Tobio, he got his when he was nine."

"He is that good?!" Tadashi said it louder than he wanted to.

"You're being too loud."

"Sorry, Tsuki."

"You have a lot of training to complete. Tetsurou can help you with that."

"Isn't he considered too young to be the head of the institute?"

Kei seemed to wonder about that question. "To the clave, those who turn eighteen are already adults. Technically, there is nothing wrong with that. He is also good at what he's doing. The previous head of the institute, Ukai Keishin, left for the conclave. The conclave-"

"Is like the clave, only it runs over smaller areas? I told you, I did my homework."

They reached a building that didn't look anything special on the outside, and pretty much like the rest of the buildings in the area. There was no elevator, so they had to climb all the way to the top floor. The music was loud enough to be heard two floors underneath the last. Even if the door didn't have the sign 'Kozume', it wasn't hard to guess which apartment it was.

"What do we do?" asked Tobio. "Will they hear us if we knock on the door?"

Kei tried his luck and pressed on the door bell. After a short moment, a tall guy with a Mohawk opened the door. Something about him told Tadashi he was a downworlder, though he didn't know what it was. The guy put on a scary impression on his face which made both Tadashi and Hitoka to back off.

"What shadowhunters are doing here?!"

"We here for the party," explained Kei. "Are you Kozume Kenma?"

The guy snorted, "no, I'm Yamamoto-"

Tetsurou interrupted him, "we specifically came for Kenma."

"To bad for you, since shadowhunter can't go inside a downworlders' party…."

Kei pulled out the invitation from his pocket. "Are you sure about that?"

Yamamoto took the invention, not fully believing it was real. Kei on the other hand looked satisfied. The group went into the apartment and everyone stared at them with angry expression. No one liked shadowhunters, but it wasn't a surprise given the fact shadowhunters hunted them. The apartment was a mess. It was dark a bit even for a party. Yamamoto led them pass the living room and to a door that was closed. Yamamoto knocked on the door and slowly opened it.

"Hey, Kenma, there are some shadowhunters who came to see you," Yamamoto said through the door.

"I don't care," Tadashi heard a second voice, "I don't take any clients now."

Yamamoto sighed and closed the door. "You heard the guy-" Kei didn't let that bother him. He pushed Yamamoto aside and opened the door.

"I don't care what your reason-is"Kei stopped in the middle of the sentence.  Tadashi and Tetsurou followed him and saw why Kei stopped. In the room there was a guy with bleached blond hair, his black roots showing, who was playing PSP. The room was full of different video games scattered around the floor. The warlock was skinny and there was nothing special in particular about his appearance, except from his cat like yellow eyes. Kei raised an eyebrow. "You're the great Kozume Kenma?"

Kenma just glared at him, but he didn't say anything. He got up and Tadashi noticed Kenma's height was average. He was slim, as one would expect a gamer to be like. He looked directly at Tadashi. "I wondered why your father is late." Kenma looked at the guests behind Tadashi. "Speaking of which, where is he? Why there are other shadowhunters with you?"

Hearing that Kenma knew his father filled him with hope. "That's why we came to you," he cried. "My father is missing and-" Tadashi stopped when he saw Kenma's face change to a surprised face.

"Yamamoto?"

The other warlock didn't answer at first; he was distracted by Kiyoko's appearance it seemed. Kenma had to raise his voice. Yamamoto finally turned to look at Kenma, for Kiyoko's luck. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Kenma sighed. It wasn't probably the first time Yamamoto was troublesome. "Can you take the other shadowhunters out? There too many people here anyway and it's your party."

"I stay here," Kei stated, "with Tadashi."

"It's a private matter," claimed Kenma.

"It's okay," said Tadashi with a flushing face. "He knows the story, I don't mind."

"Okay fine," said Kenma. "The blond shadowhunter and the guy with the messy hair can stay."

Kei and Tadashi exchanged looks. They didn't say anything about Tetsurou.

After the rest of shadowhunters, including Yamamoto, only the warlock, Tadashi and the parabatai were in the room. "Why is the other warlock hosting parties at your place?" asked Tetsurou. "He seems troublesome."

"Oh he is," said Kenma. "My apartment is bigger, so he makes his parties here. I don't like it when there are so many people here, or people anyway, so he gives me games in exchange."

Tetsurou and Kenma continued their small talk, but Tadashi couldn't hold himself anymore. "Sorry to interrupt," he said shyly, "but you mentioned before you expected to see my father. Why?"

"He wanted me to erase you memories."

"What?! Why would he do that for?!" Tadashi noticed he raised his voice a little bit.

"I didn't completely understand his reasons, but Koushi didn't want you to be a part of the shadow world," admitted Kenma. "The first time I saw you, you were almost two years old. Your father hoped that since he decided to raise you as a mundane, you won't have the sight. It wasn't until he saw you playing with a pixie in a park he realized he was wrong. He told me to erase every memory you have of the shadow world."

It was hard to believe everything he heard was true. It wasn't Kei's lucky guess- his father did hide his identity as a shadowhunter from him all this years. "Is there a way you can bring me back my memories?"

"Unfortunately, no, there is no way I can bring your memories back. I can't reverse my own magic."

"So why now? How come I can see warlocks and shadowhunters now more clearly than ever?"

"The effect of the magic expires within two years. That's why I thought your father would bring you here with him. I didn't expect you to come with shadowhunters though."

"So your magic can't last for a long time and you also can't reverse it?" Kei was skeptic.

"Kei, we are to ask for help," Tetsurou reminded the blond. "Did Koushi tell you anything about Tadashi, other than that he wanted to erase his memories?"

"He didn't talk about it. He said it was to keep him safe. Actually, he called few days ago saying we needed to meet urgently. He never explained why."

"And you didn't bother asking him why he was acting that way?" Tadashi sounded angrier than what he intended.

Kenma shrugged. "It wasn't any of my business."

The only thing Tadashi learnt from meeting Kenma was his identity, but nothing about his father's whereabouts. If anything, there were still many questions about his father that came to his mind. "Thank you for your time," Tetsurou bowed before they left and the other two boys followed him.

Tadashi turned around and walked one step before Kenma stopped him. "Your father would be pleased to find out you're safe, but don't forger there was a reason why he didn't want you to become a shadowhunter."

Tadashi simply nodded. It was clear enough his father hid that detail from him. He couldn't think why, though. The shadowhunters he met so far were nice to him and took him in when he had nowhere to go. Maybe they treated him that way because he wasn't a mundane, but it was something.

"Are you okay?" asked Tetsurou. "I mean, it was a lot to take."

"I'm fine," said Tadashi. He turned to look at Kei who was unusually quite. Kei just averted his gaze.

"Don't worry, we will find you father," Tetsurou announced, "I promise." These words made Tadashi feel better. "Maybe if we are lucky, we will find him alive too!" Though Tetsurou was optimistic, it reminded Tadashi he had no idea what happened to Koushi.

"He only said this because he is sure we will find him alive," Kei glared at Tetsurou.

"Of course- unlike mundanes, shadowhunters respect promises and actually get to keep them."

The party itself was coming towards its end. There were only few downworlders and Yamamoto himself was passed out drunk. Tobio ran around worriedly, as if searching for something. Right in front of them stood a nervous Kiyoko. There was no sign of Hitoka whatsoever. "Tetsurou!" she called, "I'm so sorry, I know I shouldn't-"

"Calm down, Kiyoko," Tetsurou stopped her, "What happened?"

"Where is the mundane?"' Kei asked what Tadashi had been thinking.

"It's my fault!" Tobio looked lost. His usual grumpy face changed into a troubled one. "I didn't notice she was about to drink a faerie's drink and…"

"I averted my look for a second," Kiyoko spoke with Tobio.

"One of them offered her a drink, tricking her and I was too far away-"

"I noticed it too late-"

Tadashi couldn't take it anymore. He tried to keep himself collected together, but his anger just burst out. "Where is Hitoka?"

Kiyoko and Tobio confessed together, "she drank a faeries' drink, turned to a hamster and one of the vampires took her with him." 

Chapter Text

Tadashi stared at the two shadowhunters for a full five seconds before snapping out of his calm and collected mood to full-on rage.

"What?" he yelled. "What's that supposed to mean? Are they going to drink her blood? How is that possible?"

This couldn't possibly be happening. It was wrong. He should have let Hitoka stay in the room with him, where she was safe. Hitoka was a smart girl and shouldn't have been tricked into something like that.

"You guys were supposed to protect her!" he hissed at Kiyoko and Tobio. 

"I'm truly sorry!" apologized Kiyoko. "I'm the older one; I should have been more careful. I take full responsibility."

"I let my guard down," Tobio mumbled, apparently finding the floor very fascinating at the moment.

Tetsurou looked troubled.

"Man, this is going to be a pain," he sighed, running his hands through his already disheveled hair.  "If they're already in their own territory, we won't be able to get in."

"Why would someone take a hamster with them?" Tadashi asked, still angry.  "Didn't it occur to them it could be Kenma's pet?"

"Vampires can turn themselves into hamsters," Kei explained.  "Maybe they mistook her as one of them."

Tadashi stared at the ground miserably.

"Well, they do go back to their natural form once the sun rises," Kei said, shrugging.  "We have a few hours until then."

"Can't we just go to their cave, or whatever vampires live in and ask for her back?" suggested Tadashi. "I read about that in the accords; there's a treaty that forbids one group from hurting another, isn't there?"

"Yup, but in their territory, we're not protected by the accords. They can do whatever they want to us. Same thing goes for the Institute," said Kei.

"The best thing we can do is tell the Clave and hope they'll take care of it before it's too late," Tetsurou said.

The table lapsed into silence.

As far as Tadashi understood, there wasn't anything they could do to save Hitoka. Unless…

"Didn't you say you guys were the best shadowhunters?" he demanded, cutting into the silence.  "Why don't you guys do something, then?"

Everyone's eyes were on him.  He could feel Tobio glaring at him intensely, as if the taller boy was offended that Tadashi would ask such a stupid question.

"Of course," Tetsurou said, offended. "But we aren't idiots. We have to go to the Institute first; we aren't going to go and stupidly charge into vampire territory without weapons."

Tadashi looked at Tetsurou hopefully. Perhaps he would allow them all to go into vampire territory to save Hitoka, even though it was dangerous.

"Well, what are you all staring at?" Tetsurou asked, tilting his head.  "Are you all going or not?"

 Kei smirked, and Tobio's eyes gleamed with excitement. The only one who looked like they had a shred of sanity and sense left was Kiyoko.

"Wait, let's think it through…" she said hurriedly. "I still believe we should report this to the Clave first."

"They won't do anything," Kei said sharply. "Not only would it be a waste of time, but we would show to them that we were careless enough to lose a mundane and place her in the hands of vampires."

"You don't have to go," Tetsurou said, shrugging. "Besides, we need someone to watch over Tadashi, so you can do that if you want."

"Wait a second, why am I the only one who doesn't get to go?" Tadashi protested. "It was my idea!  Besides, Hitoka is my friend! I'm going too."

"You're being stupid," Kei replied. "We're going to a vampire's lair during the night, you had zero training and don't even know how to kill a vampire.  Are you trying to get yourself killed?

"You were the one who told me to act like a shadowhunter!" Tadashi yelled.  "I'm the one who dragged her into all this, I'm responsible for her to, then!"

"You're going no matter what we say, aren't you?" Kei responded, exasperated.

Tadashi nodded.

"You sure, Tadashi?" Tetsurou asked.  "It's going to be dangerous, you know."

"Vampires might kill you, and you'll never see her again," Tobio added. 

"You're too blunt, Tobio," Tetsurou said.  "Try being a bit more optimistic, would you?"

"I'm just telling the truth!" Tobio protested.

Tadashi still wasn't sure why everyone, except for Kiyoko, was on board with his plan. What he asked them to do was dangerous, but he had to make sure he could do everything he could to save Hitoka, even if it involved going into a vampire lair without any previous training at all.

"Let's go," Kei said.  "If he's going to come with us no matter what, then why are we wasting time here?"

Their small party left the building and walked back out into the city, where somewhere, Tadashi's best friend was being held by a horde of vampires.

"This way," Kei ordered Tadashi once they were in the institute.  Tadashi followed obediently.

"Where are we going?" asked Tadashi, trying to peek over the blonde's shoulder.

"To get you a weapon.  Where else did you think we would go?"

Tadashi didn't say anything afterward, but their walk didn't last long.  He was quite curious to see what shadowhunters used to fight.

Once they entered the room, however, he needed to resist the urge to gasp. Gleaming swords hung on the walls next to razor sharp daggers, there were bows of every wood imaginable and arrows that looked as if they could easily pierce steel next to knives that glittered all around him- literally everything you could think to fight with was in this room, except for guns. Bent swords and dulled daggers, along with a collection of other assorted broken fighting devices, littered the surface of a table in the center of the room. 

"I think you've realized by now what this room is," explained Kei as he walked in behind Tadashi, "I'll spare you the long and boring explanation.  Let's get you something to fight with."

"What are you going to give me?" asked Tadashi nervously. Never in his life did he expect to ever carry a weapon.

Kei removed one of the daggers that were hanging on the wall.

"Every blade is called by an angel's name.  If you want to use it, call its name.  This one... is 'Iofiel,' I think.  Here," he said, handing the dagger to Tadashi.  "Call it."

Tadashi took the knife, his hands shaking unsteadily.

"I-Iofiel," he said shakily.

The blade suddenly lit up with flickering ice-blue flames and startled him so badly that he nearly dropped it. 

"Uh-" he said, staring at the blade, transfixed.  "How do I- uh- turn it off?"

"How do you think?" asked Kei.

"Iofiel," Tadashi experimented, this time with a bit more confidence.  The flames on the blade were extinguished the moment the last syllable left his tongue and it looked like an ordinary dagger now, giving off no hints that it was more than just a blade. 

Tadashi tried to hand Iofiel back to Kei. "I don't think I can do this," he said.

Kei refused to take it. "You knew how to turn it off without me having to explain it to you.  Besides, if you don't want to use it, you have two options: either stay here and wait or go to a vampire lair and die because you had no means of defending yourself."

Tadashi stared at Iofiel.  Kei shrugged and began walking back out of the armory.

"I'm going to get my dagger," he said.  "Just hang Iofiel back up, it's not like you'll be needing it as you sit here anyway."

Tadashi blinked rapidly and changed his mind. Whatever it took to save Hitoka, he would do it.  He just hoped that he wouldn't be entirely useless.

Kiyoko quickly switched her dress for something more comfortable the moment she stepped into her room.  Fighting in a dress would be hard, after all, and she needed to make sure that she would be able to attack to the best of her ability. 

She personally couldn't believe she was going with this plan.  She understood the reasons for Tobio's and Kei's logic but failed to understand Tetsurou's. He was supposed to be the responsible one, the voice of reason amidst all the chaos.  Everybody agreed that he was the one who would take over after Ukai, after all.  But here he was, about to invade a vampire lair to rescue a mundane.

She grabbed her whip, and it morphed into a fashionable snake-like bracelet, as it always did when she wasn't using it.  She drew few runes on her body with her stele before taking a deep breath and heading out.

Kiyoko found Tetsurou playing around with his own dagger, still wearing the same clothes he was when this whole fiasco started.

"Ready for the raid?" he asked her once he noticed her, flipping his dagger into the air.

"I can't believe we're going to do something this stupid," she admitted.  "Why did you agree to it?"

"It was getting boring here anyway," Tetsurou said, shrugging.  "But you know why the rest want to go, don't you?  Tadashi wants to save his precious friend. Tobio's too simple-minded to avoid a challenge. Kei's into long-legged freckled cuties.  He denies it, of course, but it's true. And I have to be there for my parabatai because lately, it doesn't seem like he's thinking with his head very much."

"So what's my job here?" Kiyoko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We need you because you're the only one with as much experience as me.  Also, you're too loyal. You want to save the only female friend you have, and won't let a shadowhunter without training go alone into a dangerous place.  We're all in this together, Kiyoko," he said, shrugging.  "Stay here or go, I don't care."

She knew he was right. It was indeed hard to be the only girl in the Institute. In fact, neither Tobio or Kei had taken any interest in the concept of "friendship," and Tetsurou was the only other one who was actually social. Kei had never showed an interest in friends and Tobio was decently kind at times, but the two of them had never connected.  

"I'll go," she said.

"I knew you would," Tetsurou said, flipping his dagger into the air once more.

Kei, Tobio, and Tadashi joined them a few minutes after, all armed. She personally thought that it was odd for Tadashi of all people to come up with the idea of going to a vampire's lair. He didn't look very confident at the moment, but she trusted that he wouldn't make any reckless decisions. She wasn't sure he was ready to face what was coming.

"Great," announced Tetsurou the moment Kei stepped in. "We're all here!  Now, shall we go have a meet-and-greet with vampires?"

"How do we know where the vampires even are?" asked Tadashi, fiddling with his dagger slightly.

"So glad you asked, Tadashi," Tetsurou said, beaming.  "Well, there's only one place where we can find them for sure..." 

They found themselves staring at an abandoned hotel on the outskirts of the city. It was late and there were almost no people out, save for the occasional drunk student or a passing car or two. The hotel itself was what Tadashi had expected from an abandoned building: dilapidated and crumbling, with massive holes in the concrete roof and all the windows smashed.

"Aren't they exposed to the sunlight if they live here?" he dared to ask.

"They're probably in the basement," said Kei. "I don't care if they get sunlight or not, but how are we going to get in?"

"We could knock on the door," Tobio suggested.

"That's a fabulous idea!" Kei said sarcastically. "Vampires are the best hosts!  They love shadowhunters!  Oh, and I forgot, they enjoy ripping us to pieces too!  They serve the best bloody merry.  Let's go, shall we?"

Tobio's glare intensified as he grabbed Kei's collar menacingly.

"Listen," Tobio growled, his eyes filled with anger.  "You-"

"How about we split before you guys tear each other apart?" suggested Tetsurou, cutting into their conversation. "Come on, Kiyoko- Tobio, stop trying to strangle Kei, you're coming with me."

Tetsurou dragged the other two shadowhunters away before they could disagree.  Tadashi stared at them as they walked briskly to the building.

Kei didn't waste any time.  "Let's go," he said, jogging towards the hotel.

"Thanks for coming with me," Tadashi said, tagging behind Kei. He knew that Kei didn't exactly like the idea, but was glad nonetheless that he came along.

"It's better than sending you alone," Kei replied.  "That would have been so stupid that even Tobio wouldn't have thought of it. Also, you're our responsibility now, might as well make sure that you're alive."

The main door was blocked off and there wasn't another door they could walk through. They went to the side, but there was only a wall there with a large air vent leading inside.

"Do you think the others are having better luck?" Tadashi asked, staring at the vent.

"Honestly, I have no clue."  Kei sighed. "We'll have to go through the vent."

Tadashi looked up.  It was placed quite low on the wall and he was pretty sure that they could reach it if they were a few feet taller, but he wasn't sure he would be able to get in.

"How will we open it?" he asked, hoping Kei had a plan.

"That shouldn't be a problem.  It's old and rusty.  All you need to do is just take it off."

Tadashi nodded until he realized what Kei just said.

"Wait a minute, I'll have to stand on your shoulders to have enough time to open it, then!"

"Why are you surprised?" Kei snorted.  "Hurry up," he said, motioning to his shoulders.

"Uh- will I be too heavy?" Tadashi asked.

"Don't worry," Kei said as he kneeled down slightly.  "I'll be fine, just open the vent."

Tadashi took a deep breath, put his hands on Kei's shoulders and felt the taller boy tensing slightly.  Then, using his momentum and the support of the wall, he stepped as lightly as he could onto Kei's back and grabbed the grate that covered the vent.  It came off quickly and showered the two of them with rust.

"Oh- sorry!" Tadashi said, shaking his head slightly to get rid of the rust.

"Don't mind, just get inside," Kei said as Tadashi dropped the rusted grate onto the ground.

Tadashi placed his elbows in the tunnel and Kei stood up slowly, allowing Tadashi to pull himself inside.  As soon as he managed to haul himself in completely, he turned around to help Kei, but the taller boy had already jumped and was now pulling himself into the tunnel with his elbows.

"How did you manage-" Tadashi stuttered as soon as Kei entered the tunnel, both boys on their forearms since the tunnel wasn't nearly tall enough to allow them to stand.

"I just jumped, no big deal," Kei said, waving him off.  "Let's get going."

"No big deal- that's amazing!" Tadashi gasped, still not moving.

"You're just saying that because you haven't seen an actual shadowhunter in action," Kei said.  "We're five times stronger than mundanes.  Now, hurry up."

Tadashi felt as if he needed to tell Kei to stop being so hard on himself, but he knew it wasn't the moment to discuss it.  Though the tunnel was wide enough for the two to crawl side-by-side, they were awfully close to one another.

They crawled farther inside the building, the air becoming fresher with every few feet.  A while later, Kei signaled for them to stop, took out his stele, and drew the same rune as he had in Daichi's house. Tadashi realized after looking out of a grate that Tobio, Kiyoko, and Tetsurou were standing in a room, scanning for signs of movement. Tetsurou saw Tadashi staring and waved.  Tadashi waved back and pushed the grate out, which landed with a loud CLANG, startling Tobio and Kiyoko, who immediately went into a fighting stance until they realized that it was only Tadashi and Kei.

Kei jumped out of the tunnel first.  He landed on his feet unharmed and walked towards the other three. Tadashi tried to estimate the height from the ventilation shaft to the ground and realized that it was impossible to go down without suffering any injuries.

"Look who finally joined us," Tetsurou said, grinning coyly. "Took awhile… something interesting happen?"

"You knew where the entrance was, didn't you?" Kei asked, glaring at Tetsurou, who shrugged, a satisfied smile on his face.

"You can jump, now, Tadashi," Kiyoko said, noticing that he was still stuck up there.

"I can't…" Tadashi admitted.  "It's too high- I'm pretty sure I'll get injured."

"We can apply an iritaze on you if you get hurt," Kei said, sounding quite annoyed. "Just jump."

Tadashi knew it was pathetic to be scared at this point, but he couldn't help it. He still needed to get used to the idea that he had angel's blood running through his veins, and that he was now quite abnormal compared to regular humans regarding physical abilities. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and jumped. When he made contact with the ground, pain shot through his legs and he nearly collapsed, but someone caught. He didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was.

"Few more centimeters and you would have fallen on Tetsurou," Kei commented as Tadashi opened his eyes, breaking the awkward silence that fell over the group the moment he had grabbed Tadashi and prevented him from falling over.

"That would be weird," Tetsurou admitted. "I'm usually used to people falling for me, you see."

Kei rolled his eyes and Tadashi laughed.  Tobio, on the other hand, glanced quickly around the room, his grip on his bow tightening ever so slightly.

Kiyoko raised her hand to silence them. "Don't you think that it's strange that nobody has come yet, even though you're all being so loud?" she asked, giving Tetsurou a pointed look.

She was right. Even if they weren't on the right floor, they had made enough noise to attract attention. Vampires had a better sense of hearing than regular humans.

"Vampires dwell inside a large room, they feel safer in groups," Tetsurou muttered.  "We should try the dining room first.  Stay quiet."

Everyone tensed and prepared their weapons. Tadashi tried hard not to shake but failed horribly. A terrifying silence fell as the entire group listened for the sounds of bloodthirsty vampires.   As the seconds ticked by, Tetsurou began walking quietly towards the door and signaled for them to follow him.  Tadashi took a quick look at the other's grim faces before heading out.

They walked through one of the halls without any surprises and reached the door with a faded sign above it that said: "Dining Room."

"Malakai!" Tetsurou called, and his blade burst into bright yellow light.  He forced the doors open and walked into the room fearlessly, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the walls for any signs of movement.

Everything was still, and for a brief moment, Tadashi wondered if they were in the right place.

Then they came out.

The first thing Tadashi noticed was how gorgeous everyone was. They all looked like models. He had always thought that vampires were beautiful in media only to attract viewers, but it was true. Perhaps they were so attractive to lure their prey.

Across the room there was a closed door, a worn "Staff Only" sign hanging on it with the help of two very rusty nails.  The interior certainly matched the decrepit state of the exterior.

As he scanned the room, there were two who stood out the most. One of them was tall, with white-black hair that made him look like an owl. The other one was a striking man with curly black hair, who was probably even fairer than what a vampire needed to be.

There was no sign of Hitoka anywhere.

"Long time no see, Bokuto," Tetsurou said as he strode to the vampire with the owl-hair.  He was smiling slightly and his tone was friendly, though even Tadashi could hear a note of danger underlying his words.

"Hey, hey, hey, Kuroo!" Bokuto replied, grinning happily.  "How's it going?  Haven't seen you in forever!"

Tadashi stared.  Since when were vampires so energetic?

"I'm surprised you came to visit, though," Bokuto said, still quite upbeat.  "You guys aren't welcome here!  You must have some nerve, bro!  Wanna spar?" he asked happily.

"No, thank you," Tetsurou said, a light smile on his face as he advanced towards the vampire slightly.  "We're here because you took something that's ours and we want it back."

Tadashi frowned slightly.

The handsome vampire that stood next to Bokuto stepped forward.

"That's a false accusation, shadowhunter. We have no interest in quarreling with your kind and have done nothing wrong.  Please leave," he said, his voice calm and calculated.

"Oh, drop it with the formal tone already, we know each other, Akaashi.  Still, I'm not sure if you know, but taking a mundane to vampire's lair is against the accords," Tetsurou said, his voice deadly. There was still no sign of Hitoka anywhere.

"We are aware of the accords and have never brought a mortal here, Kuroo," Akaashi said.  "Please leave."

"In that case, then are you saying that if we go to that 'Staff Room' that we won't find anything of ours there?" Tetsurou asked disbelievingly.

"I'm saying that you can't go inside and that we don't have anything of yours," Akaashi said, his eyes narrowing.

"Really?" Tetsurou said with mock sweetness.  "Well, we'll see about that, won't we?"

He drew Malakai and lunged at Akaashi, who dodged it and counterattacked.

The two groups launched themselves at each other. Tobio drew and released his arrows quickly into the horde with his signature precision, Kiyoko extended her whip to its full size and began defending Tetsurou.   Kei took out his own dagger and parried with a vampire instantly, protecting Tadashi, who had taken out Iofiel and called it, but was shaking too much to use it correctly.  He was scared.

The other four shadowhunters were experienced fighters and fought well, but the vampires weren't afraid. Shadowhunters were strong but were much weaker than vampires, whose physical abilities were superior. They were even faster and reacted quickly.

"Go!" Kei yelled, slashing at the vampire that was trying to rip his head off, and pointed to the "Staff Only" room once he had kicked it away into the crowd.  "I got your back!"

Tadashi took a deep breath, dodged a kick from a vampire, and took off, clutching Iofiel tightly.  One of Tobio's arrows whistled high above his head, startling Tadashi, but steeled himself.

He had no excuse for being afraid.  Sure, it was his first actual battle and he had no idea what to do, but it was too late now to go back. Not only did Hitoka's life depend on them succeeding, but he owed the other four, who had tagged along to help him.

He noticed that a vampire was rushing towards him, a bloodthirsty expression on his face. Tadashi found himself unable to move, it was happening so quickly and the vampire was three, no, two, seconds away from him-

An arrow pierced the vampire's pale forehead and he screamed before toppling onto the ground. Tadashi met Tobio's eyes and held up a hand gratefully.  The latter nodded and signaled for him to continue before nocking another arrow and taking aim. 

Tadashi ran forward, swerving around bodies and avoiding the vampires who tried to grab him.

Another vampire charged him once more, but this time, he attempted to graze her to slow her down.  A large cut appeared on her collarbone and she took a step back. He then aimed for her neck, but she was faster and tackled him, a large grin on her face.  His arms were pinned to the ground, so Iofiel was useless.  He thrashed around, but it was in vain, she was much stronger than him and surely he was about to die-

Her head was ripped off and her body fell to the side.  Kei offered him a hand, which he took gratefully. He struggled to his feet and kept on running.  So close- five steps, four steps, three steps, two, one-

Tadashi lunged for the door handle and it burst open, causing him to fall face forward into the room.  He looked upward and gasped.  It wasn't surprising why Akaashi had refused to let the shadowhunters in, it looked like a set of a horror movie. There were bodies of people and animals everywhere, every single one of them pallid and starved. The dead people were dressed in rags, but a few were still alive, slumped against the walls.  They were pale and weak, but they looked happy nonetheless, as if they couldn't notice the corpses surrounding them.

He felt like he was going to throw up and did everything he could to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged, and didn't even see the small blond hamster scurrying towards him until it literally ran into his face.

"Hitoka?" Tadashi asked, getting up to his knees. The hamster suddenly stopped, nodded, and attempted to climb up his pant leg, squeaking frantically.   Tadashi sighed with relief and scooped her up.  She seemed to be scared, but not hurt, thankfully.

"Let's go," he said, and placed her gently her into his pocket. 

He turned stood back up and turned, only to find Bokuto standing right in front of him, a broad grin on his face. The vampire was blocking the doorway. He wasn't sure if he could escape from here and didn't want to try his luck.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bokuto asked. 

 Tadashi attempted to stab him but Bokuto grabbed his wrist in mid-air, rendering Iofiel and his arm useless. The vampire was amazed.

"Are you really a shadowhunter?" Bokuto asked.  "Because honestly, you-"

Kei materialized behind Bokuto and tried to stab him, but Bokuto let go of Tadashi and slapped Iofiel so that it flew out of Tadashi's hand right before he spun around to catch Kei's wrist as well.

There was a confident smirk on his face until Kei switched the dagger to his other side and held it up to Bokuto's neck, giving Tadashi enough time to grab Iofiel from the floor and point it at Bokuto's sternum. 

"Two against one isn't fair," Bokuto complained.  "Akaashi!  Hey, Akaashi!"

"Get her somewhere safe," Kei told him as he maneuvered Bokuto further inside the room, leaving the doorway unblocked, and nodding towards the pocket in which Hitoka was stowed, trembling.  "Go!"

"Okay!" Tadashi yelled, and he ran towards the doorway.  Run, run, run-

"He isn't going anywhere."

Akaashi had just strode into the doorway.

"Hey, Akaashi!"  Bokuto yelled.  "Can you get me out?"

"Right after I deal with him, Bokuto," Akaashi said, inclining his head towards Tadashi.

And Akaashi charged, dodged Tadashi's slice easily, and flipped him with so much force that he landed five feet outside of the doorway on his back.  He could hear Hitoka squeaking earnestly inside his pocket and struggled to his feet, only to find that they were about to be overwhelmed.

Tobio was cornered, his arrow supply diminishing, and was resorting to using his arrows as stabbing weapons instead, the vampires were so close. Tetsurou was struggling against a massive group of vampires that were pinning his arms and legs to the wall, and Malakai lay useless beside him.  Kiyoko was still in good fighting shape, but even she was having trouble with the sheer number of attackers. They were in a dire situation. They were all going to die, but at least they would go down fighting.  Tadashi drew Iofiel and charged Akaashi.

Suddenly, loud howls and thumps were heard, followed by the sounds of shattering glass and the thumps of falling concrete.  Tadashi's cheeks were grazed by glass bits and Akaashi got a face-full of splintered wood.  Large wolves burst into the room, their eyes were red with fury and saliva dripping from their razor sharp teeth.

As if shadowhunters against vampires wasn't already enough.

Tadashi was sure they weren't ordinary wolves that were shown in "National Geographic," but they were sufficient to distract the vampires. Bokuto took advantage of the confusion by wrenching himself free of Kei's grip and pounced at the creatures, whooping wildly.  Akaashi lunged at the wolf closest to him, completely forgetting about Tadashi, who ended up nearly crashing into the wall as he halted his charge.

Tadashi looked at Kei, hoping the blond would tell him what to do.  Kei motioned for him to stick to the walls.

Without warning, it became more of a fight between vampires and werewolves than vampires and shadowhunters. Their small group took advantage of the chaos and escaped the dining room, ducking underneath punches and swerving to avoid the massive wolves as they ran.  Kiyoko cleared a path with her whip, Tadashi hacked wildly at any vampire he saw blocking them, Kei grabbed Tetsurou, who grabbed Malakai right before a wolf pounced on it, and Tobio defended their backs using the little arrows he had left, shooting at any attacks coming their way.

They bolted out of the hotel and into the street, paused a bit to apply their glamours, and ran as quickly as they could back to the Insitute, where they all collapsed onto the front steps, panting heavily.

Nobody had any energy left to do anything else until Kiyoko ordered them to get back inside, which they did, only after much groaning.

"I don't know how the werewolves knew we were there, but I couldn't care less," Tetsurou said, staring at the ceiling.  "Well, they saved us, and that's all fine and good.  Hey, Tadashi, you got Hitoka?  Please tell me you have Hitoka."

"Y-yeah," Tadashi said, scooping Hamster-Hitoka out of his pocket.

Hitoka was turned back to her human form with the help of some magic, but she was shaking and obviously needed some rest. Kiyoko took her to her room, trying to get Hitoka to stop mumbling about death and the end of the world. They applied several healing runes on Tetsurou, Tadashi, and Kei, who weren't too badly wounded, but hurt nonetheless. Tobio himself was in a better shape, though, he only had a scratch on his hand. 

They were all quiet afterward, completely exhausted.

"I didn't know that shadowhunters and werewolves work together," Tadashi said after a good five minutes.

"They don't," replied Kei. "But if there's something that werewolves hate more than shadowhunters, it's vampires. For some reason, they were stupid enough to attack the vampires in their own lair, but they did save us, so no complaints here."

"I'll contact their leader and see what they were up too," Tetsurou said, stretching before walking away.  "Get some sleep."

"I should go and see if Hitoka's alright," Tadashi said, standing up.

"Go to sleep; you look like a mess," suggested Kei, who stood up alongside him.

"But she's-"

"She'll be okay, Kiyoko's with her.  You, on the other hand, need to get some sleep right now."

Tadashi still wasn't sure what to do. Kei put a hand on his shoulder.

"Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you?" he sighed.  "She's fine, don't worry," Kei reassured him.

"Oh-okay."

Tadashi walked back to his room and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. That night he dreamed he was with his father again, telling him about the vampire's lair, werewolves, and Kei.

Chapter Text

Hitoka couldn't seem to forget about the room. Every time she closed her eyes, vivid images of half-dead men, women, and drained carcasses flashed across her vision.  She remembered that the minute the vampires bit their necks they flinched in pain, but a moment later they moaned in satisfaction. They did it voluntarily. No force was required. She was glad that she was small enough to hide somewhere no one could see her, but it was terrifying nonetheless.

She was relieved to see Tadashi when he burst into the room, as she had already begun imagining herself living her life as a hamster pet until he saved her. He was ready to risk his life. The other shadowhunters were willing to help as well, and in her heart, she knew Tadashi wouldn't forget about her.  They had known each other for so long, after all.

But she never imagined him holding a dagger and killing vampires.  That in itself was terrifying as well.

As soon as they arrived back to the institute, she morphed back into her human form. It wasn't as painful as she thought it would be, but she still wasn't on her top condition.  Kiyoko let her borrow a shirt, which was a bit loose on Hitoka but still comfortable. She didn't have a room of her own, but they let her stay the night.

Hitoka was exhausted and fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow.

And then the nightmares came.

She woke up suddenly, clenching the blankets tightly in her fists and tried to calm herself down, but the gruesome images kept flashing before her eyes and she couldn't rid her mind of the bloody gore until five minutes later, and she slumped back onto the cushions, wide awake. 

The hours passed, and the sun began rising.

Should she talk to Tetsurou or Kiyoko?  Would they even be able to do anything? She wanted to keep it away from Tadashi- his father's disappearance was already an enormous weight on his shoulders. But she also knew that keeping it to herself wasn't an option.

There was a knock on the door.  She put a false smile on her face and trudged towards it, expecting Tadashi or Kiyoko. 

Instead, she found Tobio standing in front of her, a volleyball in his hands.  He noticed that Hitoka was still in her pajamas, and his face contorted with worry.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" he asked.

She shook her head. 

"It's okay; I  didn't get much sleep anyway," she said. 

There was a scar on his hand. It was hard to notice, but it wasn't there before.  Hitoka looked at him one more time, trying to see if he was hurt in any other way. Then she caught herself and was surprised about how she could think something like that so shamelessly. She even didn't think that way about Tadashi.

"How are you feeling?" Tobio mumbled, snapping her out of her thoughts. Despite his intimidating features- his black hair, piercing deep blue eyes, his constant frown- there was certain tenderness to him that was calming.

"Well…" she began, but hesitated.  Would it be rude of her to bother him with her trivial feelings and dreams?

"Are you okay?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Hitoka paused and shook her head.

"Well, uh..." he said, rubbing the back of his head.  You know, sometimes, to forget about things, I practice volleyball."

Hitoka stared. Was he sharing something important about him with her? She wanted to become closer to him, and now she had an important opportunity to listen to him and maybe become friends.

"Do shadowhunters have sports teams?" she asked.

Tobio shook his head.

"No, that's why I'm playing on my own," he responded, tossing the ball up into the air slightly.

"Oh, uh- sorry!" she said immediately. "I made you feel terrible, didn't I?   I didn't mean to!  Sorry..."

"It's okay," Tobio said, shrugging as he caught the ball. "I'm used to it by now. I just wanted to ask if you want to play."

Hitoka sighed. "Sorry, but I can't play at all, I don't know how.  But you can ask Tadashi; he plays," she added.

The disappointment on Tobio's face was heartbreaking to watch.

"Oh, okay," he said, shifting slightly.  "Sorry for bothering you."  He turned around and began walking away.

"Uh- maybe…" she called, and Tobio stopped, looking back at her, "Uh- maybe you can teach me? Tadashi sometimes talks about his games, but I don't get it at all…" she mumbled.

A spark flashed in Tobio's eyes, and her heart started racing. There was something soft about him she couldn't point out: he looked so intimating at first, and she failed to see the soft side of him, but now-

She remembered Tadashi and suddenly felt ashamed of her feelings, though she didn't know why.  They were just friends, after all.

Tadashi walked to the piano room as dusk starting falling and found Kei sitting on one of the armchairs reading a book. The minute Kei noticed him, he closed the book he was reading and put it aside.

"Did you sleep well?" Kei asked.

Tadashi nodded. He sat in the chair next to the piano, facing Kei.  The room was very impressive. Elegant, yet warm and cozy.

"I think this room is my favorite in the Institute," Tadashi said softly, looking up at the ornately decorated ceiling.

"Why is that?" Kei asked.

"I just- like being here," Tadashi tried to explain. "There lots of books you can read; it's nice having a place you can relax in."

Kei didn't reply and the two sat in silence for a while. Tadashi wondered whether if he said something wrong about the room, but after a while, Kei stood up and stretched.

"Follow me," he said, waving toward the exit and leaving the room, not bothering to look back.

Tadashi stood up and followed Kei, wondering what the blond he to show him. He practically knew the entire layout of the Institute by now, what could be new?

There was nothing unusual about the hallway they walked down. Tadashi had strolled down it before, but it was too long, and he had stopped wandering in it since it lead to nowhere.

Kei continued walking farther past the generic rooms, making Tadashi confused.  Was there something new about the Insitute that he hadn't discovered yet?

Kei stopped in front of a door that looked the same as all the others. In fact, it was impossible to tell if Kei was even in the right place.

"Tetsurou's an expert on herbs," Kei said. "He knows how to make medicines. It's pretty useful, since iritaze can't heal everything."

"How does he get the herbs?" asked Tadashi.

Kei turned and smirked. "I was hoping you would ask that," he said. Kei opened the door and Tadashi glanced inside.

Plants of every size and shape grew in pots, in little ditches on the floor, with trees looming above them, their branches laden with fruit.

"Is that… a greenhouse?" he asked, amazed at the sheer number of plants. He could pass this door without suspecting that anything was inside.

"Tetsurou wasn't allowed to build one, so he destroyed few rooms and converted them into a greenhouse," Kei said as walked into the greenhouse room. "We're here just at the right time."

Tadashi followed Kei inside, first noticing the flower bushes.  Only a few flowers had bloomed, most still were tiny buds. It looked more like a garden than a greenhouse.

A little path of smooth gray stones led to the center of the room, forming a circle.  A desk cluttered with papers sat inside it, which Tadashi found a bit odd. He approached it and saw that it the papers were all sketches of assorted plants, diagrams for their use, and botanical books. Behind the pond, a few feet off the stone road, there was a koi pond filled with fish, water lilies floating on the surface. A bench was placed next to it under a large apple tree. Tadashi didn't know how Tetsurou managed to build something this impressive, but he would hire him to renovate his home once they found his dad.

"This place is incredible!" Tadashi remarked.

Kei approached the bench and picked an apple. He took out his dagger and cut the fruit in half.

"Do you want an apple?" Kei offered said as he offered Tadashi a piece.  Tadashi took it gratefully, and the two sat down on the bench, listening to the splashes of the koi.

The apple was delicious, a tad bit sour, and his fingers were a bit sticky from the juice. He glanced at Kei, who looked as handsome as always. They were sitting close to one another, and Tadashi didn't want to move. He was comfortable here.  Tadashi could forget about everything else when he was with Kei.

"What are you staring at?" snapped Kei.  Tadashi blinked.  Was he staring?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Tadashi said, looking away.  "Thanks for the apple."

"It's just an apple."

An awkward silence fell.  Tadashi wanted to say something, anything, but chose not to. His heart was beating so fast he was afraid it was going to burst out of his chest.

"You did well yesterday," Kei remarked, breaking the silence. "I mean, you had zero training, so you sort of sucked, but overall, you weren't that bad."

"I think I almost died five times," Tadashi admitted.

"Then you had better luck than I did," Kei said.  "I almost died fifteen times." There was a small smile on Kei's lips.  Tadashi was happy to see that Kei was genuinely happy for once.

It was getting dark, but there were no lights in the garden.

"Does Tetsurou come here at night?" Tadashi asked, staring at the brilliant pinks and purples of the sky through the glass windows.

"No, he's usually here in the morning."

Kei rummaged around in his pocket and took out a small stone that shone with a brilliant light, illuminating their faces.

"This is a witch-stone, every shadowhunter has one," Kei said.  He took Tadashi's hand and gave him the stone. "Happy birthday. Tetsurou told me that you probably forgot it."

Tadashi was stunned- he forgot his own birthday!  He stared at the stone in his hands.  Kei had given him a present. Small as it was, it was still a kind gesture. "Thanks," Tadashi said shyly.

Suddenly, the dormant flowers bloomed, their petals bursting out and revealing strikingly beautiful colors that were visible even in the dim light.  Reds, blues, purples, yellows, orange… so this was what Kei meant when he said they were here at the right time.  There were kinds of flowers Tadashi was sure mundanes didn't know about, such as the huge sea-blue one that spanned an entire wall and the small, delicate flowers that were a pale shade of cream that grew on the walls like ivy.  There was a flower growing around their feet that glowed a luminous green, one that opened and closed every few seconds, and a tiny flower that shone with a golden light that reminded Tadashi of Kei's eyes.  The room was filled with their sweet scent.

It was beautiful. 

"Most of the flowers are dormant during the day and bloom at night," explained Kei. "During the day, Tetsurou takes care of them while conducting his research, and it's quite loud in here. But during the night, it's very peaceful. Kiyoko's allergic and Tobio doesn't care for flowers, so this is sort of my own place."

Tadashi felt Kei was opening up to him a little bit and was glad. There wasn't much Tadashi knew about Kei. He was happy about this opportunity. Tadashi imagined Kei coming to this place, maybe bringing a book with him, and enjoying the silence, yet isolating himself from everyone. How lonely was Kei?

"Thanks," Tadashi mumbled.

"You already said that."

"I mean- thanks for everything. You brought me here when I had nowhere to go, you saved my life a ton of times and yesterday you were ready to risk your life because I wanted to save my best friend. I really appreciate it." Tadashi smiled widely. Despite everything, he was happy at that moment.

"It's just a part of my job," Kei said, shrugging. 

"Is it really?" Tadashi said, trying to imitate Kei's teasing voice.

He didn't expect Kei to turn his head and kiss him. He didn't move at first, too shocked. Then he allowed himself to be taken away by the kiss.

He just accepted his feelings because he didn't care about his sexuality, he just wanted Kei. There were romantic feelings for Kei blooming in his chest and he didn't mean to question them. Kei's lips were soft. He tasted like apples. They deepened the kiss and Tadashi could feel Kei's tongue dancing behind his lips. Tadashi grabbed Kei's shirt. After a while, both of them stopped to take a moment to catch their breath. Their foreheads touched and they looked into each other's eyes. Kei's golden eyes were even more beautiful up close.

Tadashi closed his eyes, ready for another kiss, but he could feel Kei was hesitating. This next kiss was shorter and less passionate. A bit confused, Tadashi leaned forward for another, but this time, Kei pulled away. 

"I'm sorry, I got carried away," Kei said, looking away from Tadashi.  "I didn't mean to."

"Didn't you feel… what I felt?" Tadashi dared to ask.

"I don't know what you felt, but this can't be," Kei said monotonously. Tadashi's eyes widened.  What was Kei thinking?  One moment they were kissing, and the next he was being treated like a stranger.

"Why not? I like you. The kiss-"

"Don't you get it?" Kei roared as he stood up angrily.  "I never meant for this to happen!" he looked away from Tadashi.  "You can't be around me. I was just doing my duty as a shadowhunter to protect you.  That's all there is to it."

"But you came back!" Tadashi exclaimed. "You followed me from the café to my house, you saved my life… You remembered my birthday. Do you honestly expect me to believe it was some sort of job you had?"

"I got carried away, that's all," Kei muttered, almost to himself.  "You read too much into the situation, anyway. How pathetic can you be?" he scoffed.

Tadashi stood up from the bench suddenly and walked away quickly before he could break down. Kei didn't move or say anything.

Was Tadashi getting the wrong idea? Perhaps he just saw what he wanted to see. Now, when his father had disappeared and his other father figure betrayed him, he was desperate for someone to comfort him. Yes, that was the reason for his behavior.

Kei was right. He was pathetic.  He slammed the greenhouse door and ran through the hallways, blocking everything out of his mind. He collapsed against one of the walls at one point and sat there with his head in between his elbows, trying to block all thoughts from the mind.

”You're pathetic," Kei sneered over and over and his mind.

You're pathetic.

Pathetic.

Tadashi took a shaky breath and pulled himself up to his feet, attempting to wipe his face clean.  He meandered through the hallways for no reason, continuing to block all thoughts from his mind.

On his way, he passed one of the training rooms. All training rooms looked like a generic dojo, only the weapons were entirely different.  He heard people talking peeked inside.  There, he saw Hitoka and Tobio together, only instead of sparring, they were playing volleyball. He wanted to enter and ask if Hitoka was okay, but they looked like they were having fun. She looked safe and healthy- maybe even a little happy 

They didn't notice him. 

"Okay, Hitoka, you hold the ball like this," Tobio said, placing the volleyball into Hitoka's right hand.  "And you gotta- No, hold your arm straight out, you won't be able to hit if you do." Tobio took Hitoka's arm and adjusted it slightly. "Okay, so now you make a fist with your right hand, and then you sort of POW it with the flat part of your fist, so you move your arm back and hit the volleyball, sort of like this," Tobio said. He served the ball underhand, hitting the bottle on the other side of the court.

Hitoka tried, but instead, she hit Tobio's face, causing him to stagger backwards, his hands covering his nose.

"I'm so sorry!" she squeaked,  starting to panic. "Are you okay? How much is one plus one? What is your name? Where are the shock pedals?" She said this all very fast. 

"I'm all right," Tobio tried to ensure her, his hands falling to his sides. His nose started to bleed.

"Y-you're bleeding!" Hitoka shrieked.

"I'm not bleeding, it's okay!" Tobio said, trying to calm her down.

"Yes, you are, I gave you an aneurysm!"

"It's okay, I can apply healing runes!"

He decided to leave the two of them be- he didn't need to bother either of them with his trivial problems. He kept walking.

At first, it seemed as if Tobio was the unsocial one and Kei was the one that was hard to approach.  Now he found out his first impression was wrong. Kei didn't want anyone around him. He was trying to push everyone away. What made Tadashi think he could approach him?

He kept his head down and continued walking, not noticing Tetsurou until they bumped into each other.

"Oh, I was looking for you-" Tetsurou started saying, but then stopped. "Why are you crying?" he asked, frowning.

Tadashi touched his cheeks. They were wet. Not only had he forgotten about his birthday, but he also didn't know he was crying. What was wrong with him? He quickly tried to dry his tears. It took him a moment, but Tetsurou was patient.

"It's nothing... I'm okay now…" Tadashi lied.

Tetsurou looked at him skeptically. "Well, your eyes are red, but it'll pass.  Come on," he said waving Tadashi towards the end of the hallway. Tetsurou tone was cheerful; exactly what Tadashi needed it to be.

"Where are we going?" Tadashi asked.

"Remember I said I'll contact with the leader of the pack?" Tetsurou said, striding down the hallway.

"Yeah," Tadashi said.  "Did you manage to find out who it was?"

Tetsurou smiled. "You shouldn’t underestimate me,” he said, and suddenly stopped in front of a random door.

"Because of the glamour and other protective runes, downworlders can't get inside the institute," Tetsurou explained.  "But we did create a special room where downworlders could stay in without getting hurt, just in case we need them too."

"Uh- why are you telling me this?" Tadashi asked. There was no need to show him this room, or tell him about the wolf pack.

"Because he asked for you specifically."

Tadashi opened the door.  Like most of the rooms in the institute, it was furnished simply but elegantly. Inside, there two men sat. One of them was a tall man, very intimidating, with brown hair tied in a bun and an intimidating expression on his face.

The other was a person Tadashi was quite familiar with.  ”Finally found you, Tadashi," the man said, smiling.

Tadashi stared.

"Daichi?"

Chapter Text

His first instinct was to feel relieved. He hasn't seen Daichi for a while, who was like a father to him. He wondered how the hell Daichi had turned into a werewolf and became a leader of a pack. Did Koushi know about his former parabatai's identity? It was possible. After all, Daichi knew about him being a shadowhunter. Still, Tadashi wondered how he never noticed, so there were probably signs he weren't reading correctly. Then, he remembered Daichi's cruel words. Tadashi was nothing to him, and neither was Koushi.

"What are you doing here?" Tadashi snapped.

Daichi was taken aback. "I just wanted to make sure you're alive and well… I thought you were missing! Do you know how worried I was about you? Couldn't you at least call?!"

"Why do you pretend to care so much?" Tadashi was still upset with what happened to Kei earlier; he couldn't control his anger. "My father isn't important to you anymore. You don't care about him, and you don't care about me either. Hell, even I'm just a replacement for him because he lost his real son, isn't it?"

Daichi blinked in surprise. The other man beside him looked uncomfortable. "How did you… it was only… you weren't…" Daichi stammered. He was lost and couldn't find the right words. Finally, he turned to the muscular man. "Asahi, can you please wait outside? I need to be with Tadashi, alone."

Asahi nodded and left. After the brown haired werewolf had left, the tension between Daichi and Tadashi reignited.

"I'm sorry for what I said," Daichi said. "I didn't mean it."

"Let me guess: you said it to protect me?" Tadashi said mockingly.

"Of course I did!" Daichi exclaimed. "The men in the apartment were Saito's comrades. I… couldn't let them know I'm close to you two. Saito has a grudge against Koushi, and it'll be especially bad now that he knows you're alive."

"Wait… Saito Hiroki is my father?" As far as he knew, it was only a speculation made by Tetsurou because Tadashi looked like Hiroki's wife.

Daichi nodded. "He is a dangerous man. Koushi spent years trying to hide you from him. I couldn't let his efforts go to waste."

Tadashi could feel the hatred towards Hiroki in Daichi's voice. He was also the only one who referred to Hiroki by his last name. Tadashi had no idea what to say. There were still many questions left unanswered.

A thought suddenly occurred to him: why would they try to hide him from his biological father? What could a man searching for his son do to him?

"I see that you found out who you are," Daichi said calmly. Tadashi looked up and stared into Daichi's eyes.

"I also found out dad had been trying to erase my memories," he said. "I discovered that you're a werewolf, that vampires exist, and that my neighbor practices witchcraft."

Daichi laughed. "Koushi tried to make sure you have a different life than what we had."

"Did you know I would be there, in the vampires' lair?"

"I told you, I've been searching for you everywhere! All my guys already know your face. At first, I couldn't believe it myself when one of my pack members told me he saw you with other shadowhunters. Hell, I couldn't believe it even after I saw you holding a dagger in your hand."

Daichi sat down and motioned for Tadashi to join him. "I think it's the time to tell you about your father's past."

The night sky was clear, and the stars shone brightly like diamonds in the dark velvet of night. Unlike the cities of European countries or the streets of Tokyo, there were no lights in Idris; the moonlight was enough to guide them if they didn't use the witch-stone. Daichi and Koushi decided to sneak out at night and meet in the woods, next to the river. They didn't have a hideout, but looking at the stars was also their escape.

The two boys were in their second year of junior high and knew what path they would go on- they would become warriors who would defend humanity from demons. However, at that moment they were just two teenage boys fooling around.

Daichi noticed a shooting star passing in the sky. Koushi was the one who pointed at it and said, "Look, Daichi, it's a shooting star."

"It's cool," Daichi said.

"My mom said that if you make a wish upon a star, it will come true."

The boys were silent for a moment, an unspoken agreement between them to make a wish. After a while, both of them burst out laughing.

"What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell you, or else it won't come true."

"Fine, then I'm not telling you mine."

"I never asked."

'I wish Koushi, and I will never be apart,' Daichi thought.

It was their second year of high school when Daichi became confused. Yui, the cutest girl in their class and a close friend, confessed to him. Not only she was beautiful, but Daichi did like her a lot. In a way, they had a lot in common, and they enjoyed the same hobbies. That was how they started dating.

Liking Yui wasn't confusing. But feeling the same way towards your best friend was confusing as hell. Perhaps his feelings towards Koushi weren't romantic. He couldn't love two people at the same time. Even if he wanted to, Koushi had already started dating Saitou Mayumi, who was the one who confessed first.

The four of them sat together during lunch and sometimes had friendly conversations when Hiroki approached them. Daichi never liked him. His sister was a nice person, but there was something about him that didn't feel right. He was popular, handsome, got good grades and was quite athletic. He was too perfect, even though the other girls didn't seem to mind. Also, Hiroki appeared to dislike Koushi and Daichi for some reason.

Hiroki leaned on a table next to them, his hands in his pockets, showing off his many runes. "I have to say; I'm surprised to see you guys hanging with girls."

"Hiro, stop it," Mayumi demanded. She always found herself torn between the boy she loved and her brother, and she hated it. Her brother constantly teased her about it, but she remained loyal to two sides that never connected.

"What? Don't tell me that the two don't like to be alone with each other. Even with their girlfriends, they are still together."

"We would invite you, but you'd be the fifth wheel," Koushi said with a bright smile.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Yui frowned.

"I just want my sister to realize her boyfriend is a fucking homo."

That comment annoyed Daichi. They were childhood friends, and there was no reason to downgrade their relationship to a romantic one.

"Don't be ridiculous," Yui laughed. "He loves Mayu-chan."

"You also never had a best friend before, what do you already know?" Mayumi shot back, glaring at her brother.

"Well, if the two are so close, then why they aren't parabatai already?"

The childhood friends looked at each other. Despite their strong bond, neither one of them had considered the option. They already fought well together, was there a reason not to make it official? Why did it seem like a bad idea?

"Indeed, why not?" Koushi agreed. "You're right."

"Sounds like a good idea, actually," Daichi lied. He didn't like that idea at all.

Yui and Mayumi stared at each other before turning to their boyfriends. They didn't try to hide their shock as well.

"Great, then that settles it. Maybe my sister didn't make such a massive mistake after all," Hiroki snorted.

"It's just a part of your stupid ideology," Mayumi remarked.

They had to stick to it whether they liked it or not. That was how Daichi and Koushi found themselves standing in front of the council, exchanging parabatai runes. They chanted the famous parabatai oath.

"Entreat me not to leave thee, or return from following after thee- for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge.

"Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried. The angel do so to me, and more also, if naught but death part thee and me."

They were supposed to be connected. The parabatai bond was meant to last until one died, a special relationship that wasn't shared by everyone. Hell, most of the shadowhunters didn't find their parabatai. Daichi was lucky to find Koushi; he knew that much. They were more than just warriors; they were ready to lay their lives on the line for each other. It wasn't anything new. They just made it official.

He didn't know what Hiroki was thinking. The parabatai rune would convince him that there was nothing weird between the childhood friends. Even if there was something, parabatai who fell in love with each other were cursed, and neither of them wanted to take the risk.

His heart kept beating faster and faster. Daichi thought he would explode. Standing on one knee wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, and Yui's silence didn't make things much easier. Sure, he proposed out of nowhere, but it felt right. If there was someone he wanted to spend his life with, it had to be Yui. But she looked too surprised.

"Excuse me," he said as he stood up. "It's just not- OOF!"

A strong fist punched him in the stomach. Suddenly, Yui's arms were tightly wrapped around him, as if she would never let go.

"Of course I will, what a stupid question," she cried. Daichi hugged his new fiancé, trying not to cringe in pain.

That was a relief. Though they didn't plan it very much, it was still stressful. Neither Daichi or Yui waited for the wedding to exchange family rings. The ceremony was just an official matter; they already belonged to each other. They decided to break the news to everyone the next morning.

There was one person Daichi was the most excited to tell, someone who needed to know right away. Koushi. After he had said goodbye to Yui, he ran to Koushi's house, quaking with excitement. Lucky for him, his parabatai was awake; the lights in his room were on. He screamed his name once, hoping it would enough without waking up neighbors. It worked. Even though he looked tired, he still looked beautiful in the moonlight; his features were gentle more than usual.

"What are you doing here?" Koushi asked, not even trying to hide his confusion.

"I'm getting married!" Daichi exclaimed. Even though he was excited, the words didn't seem quite right.

"Th… Gr- I mean-" Koushi mumbled. "Geez, do you have to do everything that I do?" he laughed, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't do that," Daichi said, pouting.

There was a moment of silence between them. They were about to commit to a lifetime bond for the second time in their lives; everything seemed to go well for them. They couldn't wish for anything better.

"Congratulations," said Koushi. "Yui is a great woman."

Daichi couldn't help but smile. "She truly is. I'm sure you and Mayumi will be happy too."

Koushi and Mayumi looked nervous. Hiroki usually arrived on time, and on that particular night, the couple seemed impatient. Mayumi wanted her brother to be there too, though she was the only one in the room who got along with him. Daichi wondered if she felt the need to invite him because they were related. She was in a tight position where she had to support both her husband and her brother, who often were against each other. She was loyal, too loyal for her own good.

While the four weren't so fond of Hiroki, their classmates found his ideology appealing. He was a natural born leader with massive amounts of charisma. He believed that shadowhunters were superior to the downworlders and – of course- humans. He was against the Accords and believed shadowhunters were meant to rule. Hiroki was radical, yet he could speak to the hearts of people.

He finally arrived.

"Where have you been?" Mayumi exclaimed. "I remember telling you tonight is important!"

Someone quickly darted behind Hiroki, and Daichi found himself wondering who it was.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Hiroki apologized. "There was an important guest I had to bring."

He moved a bit to reveal a woman standing behind him. She wasn't someone Daichi knew, and she had to look up to meet everyone's confused gazes. She didn’t look comfortable at all. Her brown-greenish hair was long, and her cheeks were dotted with freckles.

Mayumi, who sensed the woman was shy, spoke in a softer voice. "That was unexpected, but I guess we can make room for one more. What is your name?"

The woman opened her mouth to speak up, but Hiroki interfered before she had the chance. "This is Yamaguchi Naoko. She is my fiancée."