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(Y/N) and Akaashi rode through the forests for many days. After a while, they found a small village located far from kingdom where they were no longer welcomed.

(Y/N)'s hands were secured on Akaashi's belt as the horse bounce up and down on the rocky path that lead up to a small village.

There weren't many people that lived there. About 150 people in total. Each house was small, nothing like the houses in the kingdom. Mud bricks and sticks made each home here while cement bricks and wood made the homes and palace of the kingdom's.

Akaashi look around. An elderly woman was washing clothes by a near river, a young man beside her holding a bucket that held the freshly washed clothes.

He dismounted his horse, (Y/N) right behind him, and together they walked up the the women and the young man.

"Where are we?" Akaashi demanded.

The woman and the man looked up. (Y/N) slapped Akaashi across his chest. "Don't be rude," she said. She turned and faced the two people before her. "Sorry. Went he meant to say, was if you could tell us where we are. We seem to be lost."

The woman stood up with the help of the young man. She looked closely at (Y/N), and took a step forward.

"You look just like her," she said. She moved closer to (Y/N) and took a strand of her hair, turning the soft (H/C) between her fingers.

"Like who?" (Y/N) asked. She had no living relatives as far as she knew.

The women drew her hand back. "A few years ago, there was a couple who passed through here. They said they had a daughter, the girl had your hair, and the boy, your eyes. Both of them seemed to have a secret. They kept their hand clenched, as if they were hiding something." She glanced at (Y/N)'s hand. "Just like you are doing now."

(Y/N) looked at her hand, and like the woman said, they were clenched. It was a force of habit. Sometimes the smallest pinch of anger or sadness would cause her powers to flare, but she had learned to control it.

"They were looking for something," the woman continued, her eyes never leaving (Y/N)'s. "They never got their answer."

(Y/N) felt the pressure behind her eyes. Holding back tears was harder than she had thought. She gave the women a kind smile. "Thank you." This was the first time that she had heard of another person talking about her parents that wasn't herself.

The women nodded. "And to answer your question, you are in the Village of Night. We are 12 villages away from the kingdom."

(Y/N) nodded again in thanks. She turned back towards Akaashi, who was talking to young man. Walking over to him, she tugged on his armor. He turned to face her. "This gentleman here told me that there is a guest home where we could stay. Are you alright?"

(Y/N) nodded her head, but her face remained emotionless. Her eyes were clouded with a misty gray. "I'm fine. Where is this house?"

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The house was like the others. Mud bricks and sticks held the house together, the door was made out of a heavy piece of wood, and windows were holes out of the wall with wooden pieces forming a T shape. There was a single bed in the middle of the room, a wooden table, and another door that probably lead to a bathroom.

Akaashi came back from tying their horse to the stable. (Y/N) was sitting on the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Her hands tucked into her lap with her fist clenched, like they were when she had been talking to the woman.

Akaashi looked at (Y/N). He walked over to her and sat down beside her. She didn't moved, her eyes were focused on the wall like it was the last thing on Earth. Akaashi studied her face, even though it was emotionless, her eyes gleamed with sadness.

He took her hand and interlocked their fingers together. "What did the woman say to you?" he asked.

(Y/N) said nothing.

"(Y/N)?"

He didn't say anything else, knowing that she wouldn't say a word if she didn't want too. So he waited. With their hands interlocked, he watched as dawn slowly turned to dusk. The sky was now a yellow-orange colour that painters could only image creating.

"When I was 10, my mother and father went away for a few days. I wanted to go with them, but they said it was dangerous, so I stayed back. They taught me everything I had to know to survive before I was 8. They said I could handle myself for a couple of days. I don't think they expected me to handle myself for seven years," she said.

"The woman told me that a few years ago a couple, a boy and a girl, passed through this village. The girl had my hair and the boy, my eyes. I think they were my parents. She told me that they were looking for something, but they never got their answer."

The room fell silent after (Y/N)'s explanation. Though the room was silent, the grip on Akaashi's hand only grew tighter.

After a while, Akaashi said, "We should go to sleep. Dawn will be here soon. We can stay for a bit, but we'll have to go eventually and find our own path."

(Y/N) nodded and detangled her hand from Akaashi's. She walked over to their bag full of clothing and took out a her night clothes. She then walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

Akaashi closed his eyes and laid flat on his back. At that moment, he was glad that he removed his armor, for it wasn't the most comfortable clothing created. He laid in the bed with pants and long loose white shirt.

Once (Y/N)'s head hand hit the pillow, she fell asleep instantly. Though his love was sound asleep beside him, he laid awake in the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

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The night had been a sleepless one for Akaashi. He got out of bed before dawn. Strapping his belt that held his sword around his waist, he left the house without waking (Y/N).

The young man had turned out to be the woman's grandson. The grandson told him where their house was in case they ever needed anything. Going before dawn to another's person's house was risky. There was a chance that he could have disrupted their morning by visiting them early.

He stood at foot of the door contemplating whether or not he should knock. A few moments later, he raised his hand, but the door swung open revealing the elderly woman.

She didn't look startled, in fact, she gave him a smile. "I was wondering when you would show up," she said. She closed the door, but it reopened in a second. In her hand, were two buckets. "You could help me fetch the water. We could talk on the way."

The woman handed Akaashi a bucket, but he reached for both. She took it back with a yank and gave him a look. "I may be elderly, but I'm not useless."

Akaashi liked this women. She had the same fire that (Y/N) held.

As they walked towards the local well, the woman spoke. "There was a time that I thought I'd never see her again."

Akaashi glance at her. "Who?"

The woman spoke as though he never said anything. Sadness glistened her eyes the way (Y/N)'s had, like a gray cloud that washed over their mind and thoughts. "(Y/N)'s eyes are so much like her father's."

Akaashi stopped. "We never spoke her name in front of you." He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The woman shook her head. "There is no need for that Akaashi Keiji."

"Who are you?" He demanded.

The woman placed the bracket on the ground. She lifted her hand and white mist appeared around her. Akaashi took a step back raising his sword. The woman was consumed in the white cold mist, but it soon faded around her ankles.

The mist faded to show a beautiful woman. Her (H/C) hung at just below her hips, and her blue eyes were cold as ice. Her old ragged clothes was replaced by a long white cloak, much like (Y/N)'s, but the bottom of her cloak was decorated with gold spirals.

"Who wouldn't know their own daughter?"

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