You were on your way to your uncle, Kumo being right behind you in the form of a dog to stay somewhat unnoticed.
It was still night and you felt like the darkness was protecting Kumo and you.
He had asked you if there really wasn't anyone left, and after some thinking you remebered that there was someone left, your uncle.

He hated the family clan and left it when he was eighteen to join the japanese military.
He was your only hope now, the only one that could maybe help you.

You had told Kumo about him, and surprisingly Kumo knew a military base where your uncle might be.
It was not that far away you just needed to drive with some busses and walk a bit.

Looking at the big building, you were unsure if you would find him, or if this was going to work out.
You were scared to stay alone.

"Dont worry (Y/N)!"
Kumo spoke to you, he had heard your thoughts.

"We will find him, and if you dont, you still have me! You are a part of me now and I cant leave that easy ya know. I will stay with you to the end!" His words were comforting to you.
Kumo was right, you were not alone anymore. With him by your side you felt stronger and most importantly  safer.

As you walked up to the entance a man spoke to you.
"What do you think you are doing!" The gatekeeper yelled at you.

"Uhm, Im sorry sir...but I need to see my uncle its quite urgent. He is part of the military and Im hoping that someone could help me find him." You said calmly, trying to not anger the man.
He growled at you in annoyance and then made a few calls.

"You better not lie! Just wait here, someone will come and talk to you." He said to you in a rough tone.

"What an asshole!"
Kumo said, but only you could hear it, he was hiding in your pocket in the form of a hamster.

You waited a while in front of the gate of the military base.
You shivered from the cold wind, only wearing your nightgown and a jacket you were freezing.
After about half an hour a man came to the gate.

"You must be the girl searching for your uncle? Would you mind coming inside with me so I can ask you some questions to help you?"
The man asked.

He was quite big and pretty muscular, and wore a military uniform that had many stars and badges on it.

"Ok, I dont mind coming inside."
You replied, trying to hide how nervous you were. 

You walked beside him, and the two of you talked a bit.
He asked you about your uncles name and why you were so urgently searching for him.
As you talked he looked down at you, noticing your clothes, or rather lack of them.

"Why are you only wearing a thin dress and a jacket at these temperatures? And where are your shoes? Aren't you cold?"
The man asked, worry laced in his voice.

"I couldn't really change, I needed to leave my home quickly."
You said hesitant, unsure if you should tell him what had happened.

"Why? If you don't want to tell me then you don't have to...but, are your parents being mean to you?"

"Sir...what do you mean with 'mean to me'?"
You asked not knowing what he meant.

"Are they hurting you?"

"No!"
You exclaimed, your parents were always nice to you and gave you all the love you needed.
Just the thought of them made you sad. You still couldnt really realize that you would never see them again, the thought of that broke your heart.

"Well we are here."
The man said, his name was Liam, he had said it to you while you were walking beside him.
He pointed to a room, that seemed to be his office.
Walking inside he gestured you to sit down on a chair in front of his desk.

"I will have to make some calls. But you are lucky cause your uncle is not that far away from us and will be able to be here today."
He said with a bright smile giving you hope.

"While we wait i will give you some new clothes and a pair of shoes, yours are looking a bit thin and dirty..."
he said looking at the nightgown you were wearing that had dirt stains all over it. 

"Thank you." You muttered silently, nervously playing with the hem of the gown.

He walked out of the room to get the clothes, leaving you alone in his office.
You looked around the decently big room.
One of the walls was made of bookshelves, filled with books but also decorations and photos.
A photo in particular stood out to you, one of Liam and people that looked like his family.
He was hugging a beautiful women and two children, a girl and a boy.
What a lucky man, you thought as you continued looking at the photo.

"(Y/N), I know the death of your parents and all the people you grew up with caused deep wounds within you, but you cant lose sight of your goal, or you will get lost in the darkness. And I don't want that, I have seen enough of my companions suffer and end their life. I don't want the same to happen to you."
Kumo said in a deep and sad voice.

You wanted to answer, but were interrupted by Liam entering the room with a pile of neatly folded clothes and some shoes.

"Im sorry we only had training clothes and they may be a bit big on you, but I think almost everything is better than what you are wearing right now..."
Liam said handing you the clothes.

"Thank you Mr. Liam, I really appreciate it!"
You said smiling up at him.

"I'll show you the restroom so you can change."
He said, gesturing you to follow him.

Being in the girls restroom you looked at the clothes Liam gave you, it was a grey shirt with the army logo on it and some training pants.
Taking your clothes off, you felt relieved, safe.
The clothes were really big and baggy on you, but you didnt mind it.
You looked at yourself in the big mirror. There were dark circles under your eyes, and they were quite puffy from crying so much, your nos was red and your whole body was still sahking, overall you just looked exhausted.
You let out a sigh, walking out of the restroom where Liam was waiting.

"Sorry but we will have to wait a bit longer for your uncle to arrive, can I do something for you so the time goes by faster?"
He asked.

"A book would be great!"
You said looking up at the big man.

"Ok (Y/N), lets get back to my Office I have a lot of books there you might enjoy."

Arriving at his office he looked at his bookshelves.
"Ah, there it is." He said to himself pulling out a book.

"My daughter always enjoyed this book, maybe you like will it too."
He said handing you the book.

You spent hours reading it, until a man stepped into the office.

"You wanted to see me sir?"
The man asked and you looked up at him,  immediately knowing that he was related to you.

"Yes, theres a girl that asked to see you."
Liam said pointing to you.

"(Y/N)!? What are you doing here? Whats with your parents?"
He asked worried, getting down on his knees to be on your eye level, holding your hands.

Tears started running down your cheeks.
"They-they are...all...dead..."
you stuttered struggling to speak.

"What do you mean with dead?"
He was confused. 

"S-Someone came into our house at night. I-I didn't know where to go..."

"It's alright, I will handle everything." He whispered into your ear while hugging you.

"I know somewhere you can stay, they will raise and take care of you." He said while holding onto your shoulders.

"Ok" you simply said.

You waited outside of Liams office, while your uncle talked to him.
You thought about where your uncle would take you and wondered if you would have to hide Kumo at your new home.
You wondered if it would even be a home without your parents and all the maids that used to care for you and that you grew up with.

Sitting in the car you were driving for hours now.

"Uncle...Where are you bringing me?" You asked hesitantly.

"They are old friends of our family. They are a Japansese clan just like our family. Your new home will be Shimada castle." He simply said, while keeping his eyes on the road.

Shimada...you wondered how it would be like there.