"MOMMYYYY!!!" Shouted the three year old who ran across the pavement and dove into her mother's arm.
(Y/N) giggled as she hugged her daughter tightly. "Hey, Sweetie! You have a good day at preschool?"
The toddler nodded excitedly and held up a paper toy she had made with the help of the teachers. "We made a plane! My plane is purple!"
She held up what (Y/N) didn't know was supposed to be a plane but gave the girl a proud look anyways. "That's so cool! We can show daddy once we get home."
"I hope that plane's for me." Spoke Axel who walked up to the two and made the girl scream in excitement.
"BING BONG!" She moved away from her mother and ran straight to her godfather who started to laugh and scoop her up.
(Y/N) had to hold in her own laugh from the absurd nickname as she stood back up.
"How's the lil monster doing, hm? You beat up any kids today?" Axel asked which made the toddler giggled.
(Y/N) gave him a look that made him shrug but the girl shook her head no, hugging her paper plane to her chest. "Princesses don't start fight, they finish them."
"Good! Keep remembering that." Axel encouraged. Having taught the girl that phrase himself to keep her from picking on other kids. She was a rough child.
"You like my plane, Bing Bong?" Lil B asked as she held her plane back up to show her godfather. Once again, Axel snickered but nodded his head.
Every time the girl called him Bing Bong, he would always laugh. Since Lil B had trouble saying his actual name he suggested that she called him Bing Bong as a joke but it caught on to her. It's now his permanent nickname that he doesn't mind since he found it hilarious. But he hopes she'll stop by the time she's older, he didn't want to be an old man living a bachelor's life but still being called Bing Bong by his goddaughter.
(Y/N) smiled at the two but started to feel off a bit. Like someone was watching her.
While Axel and her daughter had an amusing conversation about the purple plane, (Y/N) turned her head a bit and noticed a group of mothers watching her with their kids held close to them. They weren't trying to be obvious that they were talking about her, only getting quick glances and keeping their voices low when (Y/N) wasn't looking. She looked down to her lab uniform she was still in, having just got off work with Axel to go pick her daughter up from preschool. Jules usually picked her up since he knew the looks the other parents would give his wife but he had to work over this time, meaning she had to go herself...
(Y/N) turned back around, her already nervous feelings about coming here become much worse.
She looked up to Axel and nodded towards his truck as she started walking, adorning a fake half smile she's so used to using. "We should go now. I-I'm sure she's hungry."
Axel heard the stutter and looked to his friend concerned before turning his head to the other parents who quietly judged and feared the woman. He set his goddaughter down and held his hand in hers before sending the other parents a very threatening glare when the girl wasn't looking.
Two mothers had a shocked look from the man's action, not expecting that from him.
(Y/N) walked to Axel's truck, holding her gloved-covered hands together and nervously fumbling with her fingers as she walked past the present version of her who had watched the scene, remembering those same emotions she felt that day.
Like an outcast. Like someone who was a danger to others. Like a demon.
"That's your daughter?" Reuban's rough voice caught (Y/N)'s attention. He stood next to her with his arms resting behind his back as he watched the small girl skip in her step.
"Yea..." (Y/N) whispered, keeping her eyes on the one person she missed so much. "Her name's Blythe."
"After your friend." Reuban hummed. "It's beautiful."
The mother slowly nodded. Naming her daughter after her late best friend was hard but it was a way for her to honor someone who she felt so close with despite the time they knew each other. She and Blythe had the type of friendship that felt like they knew each other their whole lives, having instantly connected once they started talking to each other. They may not have known each other for a long time, but her death really hit (Y/N). It took her some time to get used to Blythe not being there after she had returned back to her home.
Half expecting the redhead to be at (Y/N)'s door every morning like always...
Once Axel and her daughter reached his truck, he lifted the girl up into her carseat and buckled her in while pretending he was a dinosaur trying to eat her which was making the girl laugh hysterically.
The present (Y/N) laughed softly at the sight. She was grateful to have someone like Axel in her daughter's life. He may as well be her second dad by how involved he is.
"She resembles you a lot. Even the eyes." Reuban observed.
(Y/N) looked into her daughter's eyes as well. The same shade as hers down to the yellow. Those eyes concerned her.
She didn't want her daughter growing up facing the same treatment as her. It's bad enough that everyone will know who her mother is but to have the same physical trait that came with (Y/N)'s demon abilities was even worse. She'll be rejected by other kids, kicked away by other teenagers, shunned by adults. So many possibilities (Y/N) could think of that she prayed wouldn't be true. But considering how her own kind can turn against her so easily, even after being proven that she was in fact human, it kept her up at night. No longer getting sleepless nights about her future in this society, but her daughter's.
"I doubt she has the ability." Reuban spoke as he watched the scene change around them. "It was passed down to you through possession, not your daughter."
"But what if she does?" (Y/N) muttered. "She hasn't done anything yet but what if she traps a kid's mind by accident? All the other kids will be scared of her..."
"Then it's your job to teach her how to use them. The earlier the better."
Soon the scene changed to what looked like a park. Tall lights that curved over the lot shined down imitating a sunny day while many kids around played on the playground with each other.
(Y/N) looked around to spot her child and found her with her cousin Tyr in a sandbox together playing with large toy trucks. Other kids their age would try to join them but their worried parents would quickly scoop them away, recognizing whose child the girl was.
She sighed at the sight. Even though she did her best to keep Lil B away from all the reporters and media, they would always find a way to sneak in and get shots. She couldn't keep her daughter's identity safe.
Looking around the park, she also spotted her and Jules sitting on a bench nearby watching the two kids and discussing their work. Her past self was obviously nervous being out in public with her child but Jules was there to keep her calm and reassured, knowing he wouldn't let anything happen to either of his girls.
Nora was at the park as well but took a step away to the car as she was on the phone with her husband. The expression on her face clearly showed how displeased and angered she was at whatever the conversation happened to be. Reuban was looking at Nora, noticing her similarities to (Y/N) and the boy who played with his cousin. "Is she your family too?"
(Y/N) looked and saw her sister, happy to see her as well but remembering everything was just a memory. "Yea. She's my older sister."
"She seems upset." Reuban observed, seeing the woman hang up the phone and lean against the fence as she rubbed her temples.
(Y/N) knew why her sister was upset. Remembering that the two had a long talk about it later on this day. "It's her husband, Avery. She wants a divorce."
"The reason?" The older man asked.
"She doesn't like men too much. But she gave it a chance when she met Avery. But he's distant." (Y/N) told. She knew her sister wasn't happy, knowing she only really stayed for Tyr when she became pregnant. She instantly fell in love with her unborn child but fell out of love with her now husband not too long after. After so long of debating, she finally decided to divorce him. If only she can get him to take a break from work to finalize it. "He's a great father to Tyr. But his work is more important to him than his wife."
"Why are we in your memories exactly?" Reuban finally asked. "You're not aware of your actual surroundings like this. Anything could be happening right now."
(Y/N) didn't speak for some time. Only watching her daughter have fun kicking around the sand with Tyr as the two laughed and giggled. A small smile graced the mother's face as she could feel a tear producing. "I just needed a break..."
"To see your daughter again? Even if it's in the past?"
Her heart ached. It wasn't fair. "I'm stuck and there's a chance I won't ever see her again..." She choked back. "I won't ever see my family again... for as long as I'm stuck with Ki and Akai."
"You're saying that as if you're certain of it." Reuban raised an eyebrow at the hurting woman.
"I don't want to be..." She whispered. "I'm trying so hard to keep a strong mind but it's getting harder each second I'm not with her."
The two kids, covered in sand, got up to run over to the slides. Sand flying off their clothes and onto the colorful park ground. Nora had came over to her sister and kindly pulled her away from Jules to go have a private talk, just the two of them. In the meantime, Jules had pulled out his phone to make a call to the labs he was meaning to make all day.
"You're going to be with them again."
(Y/N) looked at the older man sadly. He didn't have any expression on his face. But his stance, appearance, his voice even reminded her of an older male figure she should've had in her life. Despite his history and everything he had done, everything he did as I9, this gave her some small comfort.
Reuban looked down, letting his face go into shadows. "You have the chance to go back to the ones you love. I never had that with Beth."
Her eyes fell to the ground too, letting the man continue.
"I won't diminish your feelings, but that fact alone should be enough to motivate you. You got away from those two once, you can do it again." Reuban finished.
Can she? She didn't want to risk trying and failing. Knowing the threats Ki and Akai made towards her husband and team, even if they were bluffs she would never risks her team's lives like that. It was hard accepting the possible fact that her family and team could be safer if she stayed away. To allow Ki and Akai to do whatever they wanted to her, let them take her far away and be their possession until her final days. She didn't want that. Nobody would want that.
"You're going to return back to reality and face the problem with determination. You're not going to give up when you're this close."
(Y/N)'s eyes hovered over to Reuban who started to walk away. Everything around her began to fade away as she started to feel her real body again. The faint touch of the chair she was tied in, the warm air from the cheek against her skin, the taste of burnt deer and snow water on her tastebuds.
Even though everything in her was close to giving up, she knew deep down that Reuban was right. She needed to focus on one thing and one thing only.
Getting back to her family.
As her eyes started to dim and her view soon became dark underneath the blindfold that covered her sight, she gained movement in her body and took a deep breath that caught the attention of the blond who chowed down on a cooked deer thigh and the filtered water he made.
He looked up at the woman who he believed had fell asleep after she was fed the food. Ki was on watch this time while Dog still remained on the roof.
Yama wasn't back yet but it's not like Akai cared. But after they were to leave the farm to begin heading south, he's gonna need the doctor one last time. Then Yama can go fuck off to wherever he plans to go.
"You up?" Akai called to the woman who jumped at the sound of his voice. She meekly nodded and settled back down into the chair. "Get all the rest you need, babe. You're gonna need it."
'What?' She turned her head to the direction he was in but turned back soon after. Did he mean for when they have to leave? It seemed like it but something told (Y/N) that there was something else to it.
Something she should be worried about.