Yuki’s eyes fluttered open as the light of the new morning warmed up the room. His hand went to his chest, his heart feeling constricted. A soft sigh escaped him as his mind went back to his dreams. And who was in the dreams.

‘Sam.’

He hadn’t thought about her for years. She almost had completely disappeared from his mind. But now those times that he spent together with her came rushing back. And with it, the feelings that he had suppressed when she disappeared.

‘Why am I remembering this now?’

His mind went back to the night before and his trip into the city. The anxiety that he felt. The stress. Thinking about it now, Yuki realised that those feelings were something that he had felt before. 

‘Before I met Sam.’

When Samantha first reached out to him, Yuki felt as if he was in a dream. It was the first time someone had spoken to him that didn’t include words meant to hurt him or actions that threatened him. She simply greeted him with a smile. After that, Yuki was drawn to her like a moth is drawn to the light. She was warmth that he hadn’t experienced since his parents had died. 

‘It’s amazing what one person can do.’

Sam single handedly made life bearable for Yuki. He had someone he could run too, someone who didn’t care about how he looked or where he was from. She was his shelter. His one friend.

‘It was fun. Being around her.’

He thought back to one day in particular. It was a particularly hard day for him. A Wednesday. Test scores were just given back and the teacher began to praise Yuki up and down for his performance. The entire time this was happening, Yuki felt like running away. Nothing good would come out of the praise. Those people inside the room won’t suddenly smile at him and say good job. Once the day ended, everything happened like he feared and ran crying to that small park that he always hid in.

Sam found him there, his head buried into his arm. At her insistence, Yuki followed her as she dragged him to her house. There, she asked who Yuki thought was her mother if he could stay for the night. The woman agreed and called his aunt as Sam took him upstairs. 

That day was probably the most enjoyable he had in ages. Sam tried her hardest to cheer him up, making jokes, giving him toys that she thought he would like, and telling him stories. Slowly but surely, Yuki relaxed and opened up as they laughed together and played. 

One of the things that they did that Yuki remembered was something that he didn’t know why it stuck with him. During the night, Sam had taken out a multitude of clothes from her closet and asked if to wear them. After much arguing with Yuki saying no but Sam trying to cajole him, he gave in and put a few dresses on. He wasn’t sure why he was so against it at the time. It wasn’t the first time he had ever put on feminine clothing. He remembered as he stared at himself in the mirror, Sam gushing about how good the dresses looked on him. 

‘And then, a few days later she was gone. I never had the chance to thank her for what she did for me.’

He sighed again and his chest panged. Then he felt something move to his right and pull him in. Turning his head, he found Akira fast asleep beside him hugging his arm. Staring at her peaceful expression, his chest loosened. He gently extracted his arm from her grasp and pushed himself out of bed. He stretched, a small sound escaping his mouth as he did. Then he remembered.

‘Oh yeah. I have school.’

Glancing over to the clock next to his bed, he found that he was already an hour late. He shrugged and walked into the kitchen of the apartment. 

‘I probably won’t go to class today then. I don’t think they care all that much.’

Yuki looked inside the refrigerator for a bit before closing it. He didn’t feel like making something to eat. Yawning, he walked over to the room where Erica slept and peeked in. It was empty.

“Erica?” he asked, going in deeper into the room. He didn’t see any signs of anyone. 

‘Where did she go?’ 

His stomach tightened as he went out of the room and began to sweep the entire apartment. She wasn’t in the back or in the restroom. She wasn’t hiding or he would have found her. His eyes narrowed as anxiety fast arose within him. He went to the door and opened it, about to march about the city to find her. 

“Oh, Yuki. You’re awake,” Erica said standing outside with her hand outstretched. 

“Erica. You’re fine,” he sighed. “You’re here.”

“Um. Yeah. Is something wrong?” she asked with a hesitant smile.

“No. I’m glad that you look fine. You had me worried for a bit, you know?”

“Ah, sorry,” she said, looking at the ground before peeking up a little, her face pink. “You were worried for me?”

“Of course. I thought something happened to you when I couldn’t find you when I woke up.”

“I see. Sorry,” she mumbled.

“You don't need to apologize. I over reacted. Mind telling me what you were getting?” Yuki asked.

“I woke up early and saw that you weren’t awake yet so I went out to get breakfast,” she explained. She lifted up a bag she held. “See?”

“Did you also get a makeover? You look different.”

“Something like that,” she replied. “Do I look weird?”

Yuki looked at her more carefully and noticed more differences. Her skin looked smoother, her hair looked shinier, and her eyes brighter. She had also grown bigger. In more ways than one.

“If I’m being honest, you look amazing. You looked beautiful before but you’ve someone improved upon that,” Yuki replied. “Though, your clothes do seem a bit tight. Unless that was what you were going for?”

“No. My close are just tight. I need to get new ones,” she said. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to block the way in.” He moved to the side and she walked in, thanking him. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?” Erica asked as she placed her bag onto the living room table. 

“Your change. It looks magical, judging from how much you’ve changed. And the air around you feels different. Did you get stronger?”

“A lot happened,” she replied. “Is Akira awake yet? I want to explain what happened with her here as well.”

“I’m awake,” Akira announced, walking into the living room rubbing her eyes. Her voice was still sleepy. “What is it? And is that breakfast I smell?”

“Erica brought us breakfast,” Yuki said. “We’re going to eat while she tells us something.”

“Great,” Akira yawned. She glanced about and her eyes landed on Erica. “What happened to you?”

“That’s what she’s going to tell us.”

“Oh.”

Yuki grabbed a cushion and sat on the ground as the other two took the couch for themselves. Erica took out a few containers from the bag and handed them out to Yuki and Akira. The smell of sausages filled the air along with the aroma of hot syrup. 

“So. Mind telling us what happened, Erica?” Yuki asked, glancing toward her as he cut up his pancakes. 

“Ah, yeah. It might take a while, though,” she said. 

“We have time.”

Erica nodded and went on to explain the details of her situation. How she made an oath that bound her powers, changing her appearance to how she looked before. How she met up with Vii the night before and had the oath removed. 

“An oath, hmm? If I remember correctly, oaths shouldn’t be possible to remove,” Yuki mused. “They can only be fulfilled. Like promises. What was the oath again?”

“I’ll never use my powers again until I’ve found someone that I was willing to die for,” Erica said. “And yes, I fulfilled the requirements.”

“Who?”

“What do you mean?” 

“Someone that you would sacrifice yourself for. Who is it?” Yuki asked, staring right into her eyes.

“I think you know who it is,” she said softly, staring right back. A light rosy pink colored her cheeks but she didn’t turn away.

“I see,” he said after a small pause. “Remember, Erica. It’s a two way street. The one you’re willing to die for would do the same for you. So let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that.”

“That won’t happen,” Akira said. They turned to look at her. “As long as I’m here, I’ll make sure that won’t happen.”

“I know,” Yuki replied. “We’ll look out for each other. I’ve been thinking lately. About our situation and mine.”

He turned away and stared at the wall in front of him. His dreams were trying to tell him something. Sam was trying to tell him. And he knew what that message was.

“I’ve been with you two for almost a year now. We’ve been through countless missions, spent so much time together, and have shared so many memories in that time. Yet, somewhere in my mind…” His voice trailed off. He shook his head and continued. “I didn’t trust you two. I hid, almost as if I was expecting for something to happen that would hurt me. Maybe it’s because it happened before.”

He rubbed his face and sighed.

“That can’t go on,” he said softly. “I almost died because of that. I almost abandoned you because I was afraid of being abandoned. That’s why, I’ve decided. I’ll try to change that.”

He looked up at Erica and Akira.

“I’ll try to trust you all with all I have. You’ve proven to me more than once that you deserve it. It might not be today or tomorrow, but I’ll try. So if any of you ever want to ask me something, I’ll tell you without hiding a thing. So. How about it?”

“Thank you,” Akira smiled. “I hope I’ll prove your trust worthy.”

“No. You already deserved it,” Yuki said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t put that trust in you earlier.”

“I want to thank you was well,” Erica said. “I’ve done less than anyone here and yet, you’re still willing to put your faith in me.”

“You’ve done plenty, Erica. Your oath showed me the level of trust you’ve put in me already. I’m just doing my part to do the same for you.”

She smiled at him and gave him a small nod.

“Still. Thank you,” she said.

The image of Sam shined in Yuki’s mind. Her smiling figure as she reached out toward him with her hand to take him with her. 

‘Sam. Thank you. Thank you for helping me.’