"The girl with eyes that shine as bright as the harvest moon...she is indeed one of us."

Running. Sprinting.

The muffled thuds of their feet as they made contact with hardened asphalt was all that could be heard. They flew over the land. He was there and panting heavily, his breaths flowing out and mixing in with the others around him. The concrete was hard and stiff on his feet. The wind that whipped their hair into a chaotic mess pushed against them from all sides and stung at his eyes. More often than not he had to blink away the tears.

But if he closed his eyes he could feel as it they were really flying.

He turned his head forward as they continued. He felt the lingering ache in his feet. The throbbing burn of lactic acid building up in his muscles and joints. A consequence from all their running. He turned his head to the right and once again to the left catching a glimpse of who was running besides him. He was sure they felt it as well if the way their legs were shaking with every step was any indicator. He pulled up the extra energy he was sure he couldn't afford and caught up with their leader running up front, his second in command trailing a foot behind.

He caught his gaze and tilted his head back towards the other two. They looked as if they were about ready to collapse. Their leader looked back, met their gazes, and let out a sound of encouragement. Although it was directed at the two running behind him he knew it was for them all. In the next second as if by instinct the one besides their leader slowed down enough to match the pace of the two behind him. He ran along side them, nudging their bodies every so often so as to make sure they didn't fall behind.

They were almost there.

He stared at the three now trailing behind and then let his gaze return towards the front. He stared at the grey road ahead and suddenly it didn't seem so long anymore. He couldn't help his excitement and let out a sound of joy. The rest joined in from behind. And although he longed for the gentle touch of soft earth beneath his feet and the heavenly caress of a light breeze through his hair he decided he could bare the ache in his muscles for just a bit longer.

It was almost time. He looked back up just as the glow of early dawn was moving its way out from behind the horizon. It's journey cast light shadows of red and orange across their path and reflected off their bodies in a way that seemed unearthly.

Yes, he would bear it, for him and for them.

"Asuna, wake up honey!"

A woman with light grey eyes and brunette hair clipped neatly into a bun flitted into the dimly lit  room. She immediately made her way towards the shades located over the window besides the bed. However, barely three steps were made before her feet caught and slipped on something hard and coarse. Her hand flew to the nearby desk for balance while the other bent to pick up the foreign object. It was a large sketch book, one that was frequently used by the looks of the rough and worn out edges. The woman eyed the book with a knowing smile and lightly shook her head. She placed the book back on top of the desk.

"Asuna, time to get up dear. You don't want to be late for class now do you?"

As she spoke she finally made it to the other side of the room and felt for the cord for the blinds. Once the thin rope was within her grasp she gave it a hard yank towards the ground. The blinds quite literally shot up and instantly the room was bathed in the rays of early morning sun.

The sunlight stretched out to every corner of the room, one particular place being the top of a bed that was overflowing with fluffy blankets and pillows. It was barely visible, but right at the end of where the blankets ended there was a small mound that shuffled and twitched when the darkness was taken away. Another minute passed before a small tuft of brown hair peeked its way through the sheets. The mound mumbled out something along the lines of "it's too early" and "just five more minutes." The woman placed her hands on her hips and made her way over to the bed. Both hands gripped at the sheets and yanked back. The body revealed instinctively curled up seeking for the now lost warmth. A grumble moved past chapped lips and small hands reached up to rub at groggy eyes. 

"Mom, just five more minutes." A rather large yawn escaped past . "I promise I'll get up, just let me sleep for a bit more."

Asuna still had yet to open her eyes and she was all set to snuggle back into the sheets only to find her mother's pushy hands forcing her up into a sitting position. The bed head that came with her would rival any birds nest.

"Come on now dear. It's time to get up." Mrs. Kim had moved to the foot of the bed and folded the sheets neatly at the edge. How she managed to get them all so quickly arranged was still a mystery. "You have class in an hour."

Asuna rubbed at her still closed eyes and waved a hand towards her mother. "Alright. Alright." She let out a sigh. "I got it."

Her mother let out a small chuckle and bent down to land a quick kiss atop the mess that was her hair. "Get dressed quickly alright? Breakfast will be waiting for you downstairs."

With those last words Mrs. Kim made her way back to the door and lightly closed it as she left. Asuna listened to the sound of her fading footsteps until she couldn't hear them anymore. Rather than heed her mothers words Asuna pulled on the folded sheets until they were bunched up around her again and around her knees. She let out a small grumble and rubbed at her hair trying to untangle the endless knots.

A quick peak at her clock told her it was only 7:30 in the morning. Class wouldn't be starting for another hour and a half!

"Ugh!!"

Asuna flopped back onto her bed pulling the sheets with her as a result. "Why does mom wake me up so early?" She grumbled shutting her eyes in the process. "She knows I'm not a morning person."

Asuna mumbled a few more complaints under her breath then pulled the blankets closer sighing in content from the warmth. She fully prepared to sneak in another half hour of sleep. Her mother wouldn't notice anyways- or at least she hoped. A couple minutes passed and although her eyes were still closed Asuna was nowhere near where she had been approximately seven minutes ago. She let out a defeated sigh.

This was what she hated. Even though it always pained her to get up in the mornings once she was up there was no going back to sleep. It was like that ever since she was little and her mother seemed to know it too, considering she probably took advantage of that fact. Waking her up early, on purpose, just so she would be able to get a healthy breakfast in and be on time for school.

Curse her mother's motherly instincts.

Reluctantly Asuna maneuvered her way out of bed, untangeling her legs from the blankets and swinging them over the side. She stretched and covered a yawn with one hand. Now in a more awake state Asuna was able to see just how bright her room was. She winced as her eyes landed directly on a ray of sunshine. Count on her mom for drawing the shades up all the way. There was a reason why she kept her shades down as often as she possibly could.

Standing barefoot in the middle of the room with nothing but short pajama shorts and a t-shirt, not to mention her birds nest of hair, Asuna was all set to make her way towards her closet, grab clothes, and take a nice hot shower. She was- until a rather chilly gust of wind blew through her room. The cold breeze caused small goosebumps to scatter all over her arms and a slight shiver shook through her body. She brought one hand up to rub at her arm. Glancing towards the direction of her window Asuna quickly realized why a cold draft suddenly came.

"Of course she would open the window." Sighing Asuna made her way over, with much more grace than her mom did, and was fully prepared to slam her bedroom window shut. But as her hand touched the white paneling slight movement outside caught her eyes. Curiosity got the better of her and Asuna decided a quick peak wouldn't hurt.

As she glanced out the open space her eyes were quickly met with the dense, plush greenery that surrounded her home. Trees, tall and short, thick and thin, spread out before her for miles to come. Some of them swayed gently with the morning breeze and while others reflected golden sunlight off their leaves. A small smile graced her lips as her eyes looked over the sight. Green always was her favorite color. The sky held no clouds that could have potentially blocked out the bright sun, yet as Asuna stuck her head out furthur she couldn't help but shiver again as the morning air nipped at her now flushed cheeks. Instantly she threw herself back inside and slammed the window shut. It closed with a loud clanking sound. Her mom was probably going to scold her for doing that later.

Sighing Asuna took another look out the window, now behind the safety of the transparent glass. Her hands came up to rub at her arms unconsciounsly. Sunny, but still freezing.

"Great." Asuna muttered as she thought about all the layers she would have to wear in the morning only to have to take them off one by one as the day progressed and got hotter. But she couldn't blame the weather, as much as she wanted to. The beginning of spring had only begun a little over a week ago and while the days were getting longer and brighter, winter still had yet to relquinsh its hold on the earth. Which resulted in strange, mixed weather patterns where Asuna couldn't tell the difference between one season and the other. She shuddered again as if another gust of wind blew through. Dropping her arms Asuna turned towards her closet. She reached a hand out, but froze only a second later.

A sudden feeling of longing rendered her motionless.

She suddenly longed to jump into the forest outside her window. To feel the breeze whip through her hair as she ran. To roll around in the soft grass and feel the soft earth beneath her feet. What she would give to have the soft caress of wind weaving through her hair and the warm golden rays of the sun touch her skin. She had dreamed of the rush of wind over her body. She felt a sudden ache in her legs was almost unbearable, but as she kept running she felt there was still that undeniable feeling to keep going.

The urge was there as it tugged and pulled at her heart. Her hand touched the edge of the glass and then as fast as it had come, the feeling dissolved. Gone, as if it was never there. Asuna blinked and glanced at her hand on the window. A look of confusion appeared on her features as her eyebrows scrunched and her lips straightened to a thin line.

"That's strange." She murmured as she moved away from the glass. "What- was that?"

Asuna shook her head. She must have been more tired than she thought.

"All that early morning air must have done me more harm than good." Asuna murmured as she pulled open the door to her closet. She hummed a small tune as she sorted and shifted through her clothes. Her small hands grazing over potential outfits only to push them back in a second later.

"This one? Or maybe this one." She questioned as she held up a fuzzy winter sweater and compared it to another top. "No, but then it's going to get warmer and then maybe I'll..."

With her mind distracted and the incident from earlier long forgotten, one would barely be able to notice the shift in her eyes as they flickered with a light amber color before quickly fading back to their original warm brown.

"Perfect. I'll wear this today."

A small beige house stood in contrast to the environment surrounding it. The morning sun rose gently as it's rays slowly illuminated the pale, worn walls. The sunlight seeped in through the wide glass windows that were built all around the house and the light even penetrated deeply enough to light the stairway that stood near the middle. The stairs creaked a little as soft footsteps made their way down. Mrs. Kim hummed slightly as she descended, a small smile on her features as she was quite pleased with herself for getting her night-owl daughter to wake up before noon.

As she reached the end of the stairs, to the right just a little beyond where the stairs ended was the kitchen and to the left was the living room which held one large fluffy couch and a couple single-seater sofas. The front of the house there was a small porch, wood and paint chipping slightly from years of being exposed to the elements. The yard was just as equal in size if not smaller. The house had no gate or fence surrounding it. Fences meant closure, isolation, and secrets and they believed in none of those. There was also a decent sized garden swing located just to the right of the door. The wood was old and splintering and made eeire creaking noises everytime somebody sat down and swung. But it was just as enjoyable nonetheless.

To the front held the streets and to the back held the forests.

Mrs. Kim smiled as she passed by a window that overlooked their backyard. Although their house was small, to them it was perfect. It was a cozy little place and their family wouldn't have it any other way. Besides with only three people living in the house it didn't seem crowded in the least. She finally made her way into the kitchen where instantly the smell of freshly brewed coffee floated up to her nostrils. Near the stove a large bowl of pancake batter stood wating to be mixed and several pieces of buttered toast and assorted muffins were placed on plates in the center of the kitchen table.

As she entered Mrs. Kim went directly toward the stove, turned it on, and got ready to flip some fried cake batter. The rustle of newspaper made her turn her head. When her eyes met with the source of the sound she smiled and gave a small eye roll.

"She's up. Thank you for asking."

Another rustle of the newspaper and a head of spiked black hair appeared from behind the wall of grey text. A moment later and the paper was lowered completely giving Mrs. Kim a full view of her husband's freshly showered morning gaze.

"Great job honey. I knew you could do it." Mr. Kim reached for his cup of black coffee and raised it out towards his wife as if toasting her. He gave a playful smile to which Mrs. Kim only shook her head to.

"You know," He continued taking a sip of his coffee. "she would have gotten up eventually. You didn't need to wake her up so early."

Mrs. Kim promptly placed pancake batter into the butter coated pan. It sizzled slightly upon contact. "Yes, but did you forget that she has school in-" She glanced towards the clock. "-an hour or so? You want our daughter to be late?"

She turned her back on the stove allowing the pancakes to cook while she raised an eyebrow towards her husband, crossing her arms for effect. Mr. Kim looked sheepish as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Just saying..." He mumbled. "She could use all the sleep she can get. I remember when I was that age-" A dreamy sigh escaped his lips as he leaned back on his wooden chair.

"Oh please." Mrs. Kim gave a small laugh. "I'm thankful our daughter knows better than to do what you did back then."

She flipped the pancakes in the pan. They turned up a fluffy golden brown with the edges crisped just a little more.

Mr. Kim chuckled and got up circling around the table to head towards his wife. He leaned over slightly to land a peck on her cheek. "Yes, but you still fell for this old bad boy."

Mrs. Kim elbowed him back with a knowing smile. "Unfortunalty yes." She sighed. "How that happened will still and forever be a mystery."

Mr. Kim although in his early forties was quite a child at heart. The slight wrinkles on his forehead or patches of grey in his hair said otherwise, but there were plenty other ways to tell. His eyes still shined with the same fire and glow he had when he was a teenager. The passion for his family, work, and life itself remained unchanged. His laugh as well, which many would say was highly contagious, was still warm and friendly. He was an outgoing man and somebody you just willingly wanted to open up to. Perhaps this was why he was one of the most well known and liked men in town. People flocked to his small carpenters workshop whether to get something made, fixed, or even to just talk.

All were welcome.

His wife was more or less the female counterpart of him. She was as loving as she was caring. Although she was slightly more strict compared to her husband, preferring to get things done right away rather than wait. However, she was a mean cook and you couldn't really argue with the person who put food on your plate, espically if it was good food.

Mr. Kim let out a chuckle and started heading back towards the table. He was eager to get back to reading the morning paper before he had to open shop. But before he turned away he decided to sneak one more kiss from his unsuspecting wife. He snuck back behind her and just as he was leaning in the thump, thump, thumping of stairs caught his attention. In the next second his ears were met with a very loud familiar voice.

"Eww!!" Asuna covered her eyes while displaying a feigned look of disgust. "Parental displays of affection! Ahh! Too early! Too early!" She flailed her hands back and forth for effect.

Mr. Kim sighed internally and shook his head. The knowing smile on his face said otherwise though.

"Good morning muffin." He headed towards her and ruffled her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Morning Dad! And yeah more or less." Asuna laughed slightly, then turned her head towards the stove. Her face split into another grin. "I knew I smelled something good from my room. You made pancakes Mom?"

Mrs. Kim chuckled and laid out a plate of the fried cakes. "That nose of yours has yet to be wrong. Come on, come eat while they're still warm."

"She just knows good food when she sees it." Mr. Kim piped up from behind his newspaper. He had sat back down by now, newspaper in hand. "Yours is always the best honey." He raised up his coffee mug again while Mrs. Kim gave another roll of her eyes.

Asuna giggled at the exchange between her parents and made her self comfortable at the table. There was already a plate set for her and she was quick to take advantage of the warm platter of golden delectables sitting in front of her. Fresh pancakes were the best, espically the ones made by her mom. Asuna took a bite and sighed at the heavenly taste.

She was in food heaven until she heard her mom call out from the kitchen. "Asuna, did you take your medicine yet?"

Asuna gulped. "No." She more or less mumbled.

Darn and she was hoping her mother wouldn't remember this morning. Begrudgingly she made her way away from the table and approached the counter where her mother stood with a glass of water and two small, round white pills. Asuna made a face as soon as she saw the medicine. She hated taking pills. More often than not they got stuck in and refused to go down whenever she swallowed, no matter how much water she drank. It was like her body was rejecting the foreign substance as well.

Whoever thought it was smart to make people have a gag reflex must have been the stupidest person ever.

"I just got up Mom. How can you expect me to already take my medicine?" Asuna frowned as her mother placed the pills in her hand. She wished they would somehow magically disappear. "And do I really have to? I feel fine and I haven't hurt for days."

Her mother set her lips into a straight line. "Asuna, you know what happens when you don't take your medicine. I don't want you fainting again and I know you don't want to go back to the hospital. It's better safe than sorry right?"

Mrs. Kim reached over to cover her daughters hand with her own. Asuna sighed and looked down at her hand. She knew her mother was right, but it didn't stop her from looking towards her father for help. She frowned again as she saw his face was still hidden behind the newspaper. She heard his voice loud and clear though.

"Your mothers right muffin. We know you dislike taking those pills. But-" he paused and set his reading down. "-we just want what's best for you. Your health is the most important."

Asuna scrunched her face up, but let out an agreeing sigh. "Right, I understand."

Her parents had a point and she couldn't deny the reasoning behind their words. No matter how unpleasant those pills made her feel she knew that not taking them would result in something much worst. She would be selfish not to take them. To put her parents through the pain of watching her go through that ordeal. She shuddered. No, she didn't want that. She'd rather feel a moment of discomfort than weeks of never ending pain, mentally and physically.

Preparing herself for the unpleasant feeling Asuna closed her eyes and threw the pills into . She held her breath as she reached for the water and quickly gulped the whole glass down. The stubborn little things decided to take their time traveling down and she could still taste their disgusting bitter aftertaste lingering on the back of her tounge.

She shuddered again. "Bleck, I hate taking those."

Her mother chuckled and moved a stray piecce of hair on her head back into place. "I know sweetie, but it's for your own good. One day we're going to get you cured." She smiled an encouraging smile. "Once we have the money it's the first thing we'll do. I promise."

Asuna couldn't help but smile back. Her parents were always so selfless. It was the one quality Asuna admired most about them and there were many admirable qualities to admire. She sat back down to the table to finish the rest of her breakfast. School would be starting soon and she didn't want to rush in late again. Thank heavens her homeroom professor was so forgiving. Her mother joined her at the table with a cup of freshly made tea in her hands.

Asuna was just finishing up the last of her pancakes and was now reaching for a piece of toast across from her. She was nibbling lightly at the edges when she heard the crinkling of paper to her left. She glanced over and saw that her father placed the newspaper down and was now staring at it with a rather blank expression. Or rather frowning was the better term. His eyebrows were scrunched up tightly, lips set in a thin line, and even his eyes had turned dark. Asuna set her toast down.

"Dad, what's wrong?"

His frown deepend as his eyes darted back and forth reading the text in front of him. "I don't like this." He mumbled, hand coming up to rub at his chin.

"Dad?" Asuna tried again.

Mr. Kim finally seemed to hear his daughters voice as he jumped a little, breaking his attention away from the paper in front of him. "What? Oh sorry. I was just- ah- here just-- just listen to this."

Asuna and even her mother now were curious as to what had Mr. Kim so engrossed. They sat up straighter as he cleared his throat and prepared to read.

"Three more mysterious disappearings strike the town. The cases are piling as investigators still have no leads as to what could be causing these strange happenings. Just last week a young teenage couple and a middle aged man were reported missing. The man was last seen walking towards the local supermarket, while the young couple disappeared after finishing a movie at the theater. These people had nothing in common other than the fact that their incidences happened at night. They are still nowhere to be found..."

Asuna swallowed hard as her father read out the names of the victims. She knew that couple. They shared some classes with her and although they never talked outside of class, she always enjoyed their company. They were nice people. Asuna heard her father clear his throat again before continuting.

"...No soild leads have been formed, but authorities encourage people to stay inside after dark or if going out is absolutely necessary than avoid less populated areas. More information will be given out as we receive it. For now the mystery of the phantom kidnappings remains just that. A mystery..."

A silence followed after Mr. Kim's voice trailed off. Asuna saw that her father still had on his frown, although less prominent now, and even her mother didn't look too pleased.

"That's the third one this month, if I'm recalling correctly." Mrs. Kim lowered the cup in her hands.

Asuna heard her father heave a sigh. "Well, there's not really anything we can do but hope they solve this soon. This is getting out of hand."

"I can't imagine what those kids parents must be going through." Mrs. Kim sighed.

Asuna couldn't help but agree, but then again what could they really do? She lowered her head only to raise it a second later. Her gaze caught a glimpse of the clock in the kitchen and her eyes widened at the time.

"Oh my gosh, I'm going to be late again!" Asuna yelped as she scrambled towards the stairwell to grab her bag and books. She stuffed the rest of her half eaten toast into . The next part of her sentence came out muffled. "This is what happens when you guys distract me!"

Her parents couldn't the chuckle that escaped past their lips. Mr. Kim took one last glance at the article then folded the newspaper in half. He was done anyways. Asuna returned with her book bag in tow and several books in the other hand. She was busy adjusting the straps as she moved forward.

"Thanks for breakfast Mom. I'll be back soo- Oh wait!"

Asuna dropped the hold she had on her things before sprinting back upstairs. The loud thumping of her feet could be heard from the kitchen as Mrs. Kim shook her head with