Eunice
_April 27th, 1929._

_Can you see my frozen dream?_
_My frozen dream can never be_
_It is a paradox, you see_
_Such a frozen dream?_
_Such a frozen dream can never be_
_Waited for a century, it's only gotten worse_
_People want to stop me when I try to lift the curse_
Virginia
Akira Hirano. If you were to ask who she was, many people would say she was a kind and quiet soul.

 She was a soft spoken immigrant with a strange charm, a hardworking farmer whose body had been broken again and again, a caretaker, a provider, a woman in men's clothes. More importantly, Akira Hirano was a survivor...


...And a werewolf.


 Indeed, Akira was one of the beasts that had been terrorizing Briar Ridge for almost a year. 

 More than that, her existence was paradoxical, wrapped in a thousand layers. What would it take for her to peel each and one of them at once?

Isolation was Akira's only weapon, for the last thing she ever wanted to do was to commit more sins to carry on her weary back. Even as she saw herself as an ugly, wretched thing, her spirit remained the same. One thing was true, she loved Briar Ridge, she loved her neighbors so much she'd do anything to fix everything. This was her burden to carry, her path to redemption.

Was it too late, however? Only time would tell. Akira Hirano, a woman who became a stranger even to herself, could only do so much. She was still vulnerable, to the point where she had to sit and rest to recover from whatever horrors her body sustained during the full moon. Her injuries, the phantom pains from her missing limb, were the things that made her feel still human. 


"Papa... You need some rest..." Said Akira, even though it hadn't even been close to sunset. In truth, the Hirano residence hadn't been able to catch a single full night's rest for a long, long time.


Mako knew all of Akira's layers of course, but even then he still loved her to the bitter end. How could he not? This was his daughter, his own blood and only family. Not many people would understand him, it seemed. 

Mako, a child of the Boshin War, knew by his life experience that they only had so much time in their hands. His paranoid and restless gaze met with his daughter. "N-No, I can't leave you alone, you know that."



"But look at you."

Akira chuckled, leading him to his room. Her voice was quieter than ever, despite the two of them being the only people in town who could understand each other. "You're going to get sick again. Take a nap, MIta and I will take care of dinner once he's here." 

"Alright, then._" Mako said, finding himself being tucked in many blankets. 

A break from their constant state of alert before their visitor arrived was tempting. Mako only needed twenty minutes to close his eyes to be as good as new, he only hoped it could take some weight off Akira's shoulders.

For a moment, the Hirano residence could catch its breath as Aki sighed in relief, stumbling her way to the small cabinet they had in their living room to retrieve their Iron cast tea kettle to brew some tea.
Mary
Everything was ready. Alma wasn't one to simply rush into something. The bullets had been carefully counted. The silver one that typically hung round her neck had been pulled from its place and loaded into the chamber. Its placement meant it'd be the first one shot. And ideally, the last one. The other five were simply precautions. A hunting knife was tucked into her boot in case she ran out of bullets. Her hair was braided up and out of her face to keep her movements free. 

No, Alma Marie Cooper never ever rushed into something. 

Alma slept on it. At least, as best as she knew how to sleep on something. Nightmares and terrors were constant companions when Alma let herself sleep for more than a few hours. The taste of a half-formed scream and the crunch of bone always won. She slept when she could: at her desk in the schoolhouse, on Rhett's sofa, in a patch of grass beneath an oak now that the weather was warming up. Anything to help her stay functioning. To help her fight. 

Briar Ridge needed her to fight. 

Briar Ridge needed her to be logical. But how could she possibly be logical when one of her longest companions had lied to her for months on end? How could she possibly be logical when that same companion was putting Rhett's life in danger? When an entire month had past, yet there was still neither hide nor hair of a cure? When there were two newborn babes afflicted with this curse and no one seemed to be in a rush to set it right?
_ _

Alma decided it was time to make sure her 'friend' meant business. Shady would no doubt be disappointed in her actions, but she didn't give a rat's ass about Shady's opinion right about then. Dog knew the look that Alma got in her eyes when a hunt was on. He'd been trekking through the woods with his master and that Sterling man enough to know what the smell of oil and gunpowder meant. 

The path to the Hirano's house was a familiar one. Back when her papa was still alive, it was one she would oftentimes make with her arms weighed down by gallons of shine or fresh baked pies. Her hands were empty this time, her weapons tucked out of sight. It was only her and Dog. Her mother wasn't quietly wondering at their garden. Her father wasn't wonderin' aloud where he and Mako would go fishin' next. No, it was just the quiet crunch of well-trod dirt beneath Alma's boots. 

When she got to the porch, she knocked. There were rules and regulations to be followed, after all. The last thing she wanted to do was point at gun at sweet old Mako. If anything, she prayed he wasn't home. She prayed she wasn't about to have him witness one of the second worst sins she'd ever commit, but she'd be just fine with shoulderin' that load if it meant that fucking cure was finally worked on. 

||
Virginia
With the Nambu Tekki fetched from the cabinets, Akira was ready to set everything up for her guest and her father on a tray. Her small frame slowly put everything on a tray with such care it'd be hard to guest it was a beast doing it.
She didn't think of much when she heard the knock on the door. 

Her guard was let down, and that was her first and, to many, possibly last mistake. 

Akira's clumsy steps and laboured breath could be heard from the porch, a sign that she was coming.

She opened the door, and soon her face went as pale as a sheet, her blood running cold. 

"...Ar... Alma..." Akira let out, her tongue twisting. If the coalition leader hadn't pulled her weapons already, Aki could had sworn she had already been shot and left for dead.

There she was in front of Alma Cooper. Akira Hirano, a monster, a deceiver. A murderer and a traitor.

And yet, for someone so dangerous, Aki couldn't be more meek. She looked down. No, more than that, she kept her head low for a good moment. She was... Bowing to Cooper, all while her whole body shaked. 

*Thanks Rooster, I'll see you in hell.*

Both women knew what they came for, she wasn't going to be playing the same game anymore at least. 

"I know why you came here." Akira said, defeated. She raised her body back up, taking a deep breath as if she were to greet death soon.

"Do you want to talk... Or...?"
Mary
The second Akira's shock of reddish-brown hair was seen through the crack in the door, the hunt was on. Dog lunged and Alma shoved herself right in the way, taking Aki with her. The bloodhound *Hated* The stench of the beasts. He had ever since the creature Alma Cooper now knew to be April Baker had busted through her childhood bedroom window and pinned Aki to the floor. Alma shut the door before he could get a taste. The dog stood at the door, barking and braying with all the ferocity and hate his 80 pounds could muster. 

The message was clear: if Aki ran, Dog would chase. If Aki escaped Alma's wrath, he would finish it. 

The sudden shoving and door slamming would have interrupted Aki from completing her bow. Alma hadn't been gentle. Nor was she gentle when she grabbed up a fistful of Aki's hair and pressed the barrel of her pistol against her chin. Akira was strong. Even with one arm, Alma knew she wasn't a match for her muscles. This was the only smart move she had. She wasn't going to risk missing her mark.

"Yeah, Aki, I wanna talk," Alma's voice came out cold and calm. The kind of calm that comes when earth goes quiet as it braces itself through a storm. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end it all right here. And you best make sure it's the god damn truth, 'cause you done nothin' but lie to me for *Months*."

||
Virginia
It seemed like Akira didn't even have the right to utter a single word. Before she knew what happened, all she could feel was pain and pressure. 

She screamed. One might expect the guttural sounds of a beast, the howling screech the townsfolk had become so familiar with when silver bullets pierced werewolf flesh. Music to many people's ears.

But it was Aki's raw voice echoed in the living room, so fragile and human...

If Alma hadn't planned this so well, it could have been impossible to tell that Aki made an attempt to fight back, if it weren't for the fact that her body was already broken to begin with. Her leg made an uncomfortable crunching sound as she tripped, handled like a sack of potatoes. In midst of the struggle, her plain shirt began to stain in crimson, those were the sign of wounds reopening.

Akira never had a chance in such state. There she was, broken and stripped of her humanity, trying to stay quiet as if she didn't even have the right to ask for help.

This must had been the desperation her victims felt. Hadn't it?

Akira tried to speak, to explain herself just like Alma had requested. But she choked when one of her own ribs threatened to stab her if Alma were to keep pushing.

But, as much as she wished her death could go unnoticed, Akira wasn't alone. 

"Get. Your. Filthy. Hands. Off. My. Daughter"

Mako Hirano, child of the Boshin War, now a soldier forged past his prime time, came out of his room armed.

He aimed his gun right at Alma.

_"STOP!"_ Akira screamed in no other than her mother language before going on a coughing fit. _"DON'T... LOOK!_"
Mary
The sound of Aki's screams echoed in Alma's ears. She was accustomed to screams, though. Screams of children. Screams of the other coalition members. Screams of her own name desperate on Rhett's lips as a wolf tore into her flesh. Whatever empathy that still coursed through Alma's veins was icy and dormant in the wake of the job at hand. There was a task to do. Alma would complete it. 

She moved with Aki as she fell, keeping the one hand in her hair and the other maintained the gun to her chin. Otherwise, she didn't touch her. She could move. She could breathe. She could speak. Alma was perfectly fine with waiting for Aki to regain her senses when she heard Mako's familiar voice from the living room doorway. She looked up, the ice fading from her expression. Her features softened into something stern but patient, much like she would handle a particularly rowdy student. 

"I'm awful sorry, Mr. Hirano. I had hoped to explain myself after Akira here was apprehended. Your daughter is a werewolf. Ain't'cha?" The tip of Alma's pistol dug in a bit deeper, its metal cool and hungry. 

Alma didn't understand what Akira screamed, but she did tug on her hair a little tighter to snap her out of it. 

"Now, Aki. I done asked you: why shouldn't I end it all right here? Shady seems to think you're workin' on a cure. You've had a whole month, yet you ain't got shit to show me for it, do ya?"
Virginia
"Yes. Yes, she is." Mako said, gun still held high and aimed at Alma. The old man couldn't comprehend how a woman as sweet as the youngest of the Cooper could stand there, her eyes as cold as ice close to end Akira's life like she was some sort of animal to be put down. "But she's more than that..."

The gun dug deeper into Aki's chin, and Mako couldn't stand there watching it unfold as the woman had been forced to suppress her pain, a repeat of what she had been doing for many months.

"STOP IT! You don't have to do this! Stop treating her like an animal!"

Out of all people, it had to be Alma Cooper. In this very home, right where they stood, it was her the very woman the Hirano had invited to their home, shared dinner with, spent holidays together. Six years of friendship with the Coopers were all gone, they became mere strangers. It was as if Akira had died back in September, and what remained was nothing but a shell of former herself, a monster, a deceiver. A traitor. But, was she, really? 

A hand raised up, not directly to Alma, but at her father to lower his gun. He refused to do so.

"I've... Always been on your side... Alma... I've always wanted to help you." Akira finally spoke up in English, her breathing labored, her chest struggling to fall and raise. 

" Yes... Yes I am, I am working on the cure... I've been working... On it for months..."

How? How could Akira Hirano, a werewolf, have the power to help Briar Ridge?

 Her weary eyes glanced over a cabinet where a small altar stood in the living room. Trinkets, praying beads and different religious objects were inside it, alongside a single picture taken from a past that seemed to distant. Little Akira, "Aka-chan" As they used to call her, with her mother. These walls had ears, but they stood hopeless in the barrier between life, death, and the karmic cycle.

Riza Hirano was watching. Akira could feel her presence, powerless to do anything, she heard them screaming. After all, it was the living who were

More dangerous than the dead, weren't they?

"The question comes, Alma... Would've you listened before?...Or would you have had the same reaction as you do now?" Aki continued, coughing in between. "Because something tells me it's the later... Alma, you scare me... You scare me more than the werewolf that bit me and infected me... I'll say this.."

Her hand raised up again, now stained in her own blood.

"Kill me now... And there'll be no damn cure. Because with my vision... I can find the people who can make it a reality."
Mary
*Traitor.*

The word slivered from her mind to the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. She'd harbored her own father once before she'd gained her senses. Kept his secret. Made excuses. Told lie after lie to keep him safe, even when he came back home with blood on his boots and it caked in his beard. She'd thought they would find a solution. 

And the person who was mean to find that solution had proven useless. 

"I'll stop treatin' her like an animal when her kind stops treatin' me n' you like *Food*," She snapped back at Mako. He would learn one day. Though he didn't have a wife to protect the way Alma had to look out for her Mama. Only a daughter. There was a chance he'd only learn when Akira came 'round to feast on his bones.

The last thing Alma expected Aki to do was to defend Alma. Her brows knit themselves into knots at the way Aki's trembling hand raised up against her father. The other hand was... Nonexistent. Akira had hidden herself away from Alma so well that she had yet to lay eyes on what she'd only heard rumors about. She hoped it was cause whoever Aki ate last had gone down fighting. Good to know the monsters couldn't grow back limbs. She'd have to keep that in mind if push came to shove. 

Granted, she was shovin' like Hell already. 

"Help? Hidin' yourself away for months was meant to help me? Keepin' to the shadows? Lettin' yourself rip into the people of this good town month after month *After month* Was somehow supposed to *Help me*? I'm afraid you're gonna have to try a Hell of a lot harder than that, Aki." 

Alma didn't follow Aki's gaze. Instead, she kept her eyes glued right on her target in case this was all some trick. In case she'd have to yank her up quick if Mako went to pull that trigger. The front door began to shake as Dog's fervor increased. He scratched at it, ripping off paint in great swatches. He foamed at the mouth through his incessant barking, globs of white drool coating his face and chest. 
_ _

"See, Aki, I did the math. I seent the patterns once Shady told me 'bout you. I started askin' myself when you stopped showin' up. Why you stopped showin' up at the safehouses n' why you didn't turn up at the coalition meetin's like you shoulda when I first invited you. You been this thing since you was attacked at my place, ain't you? That's when you started disappearin'. That makes it eight months straight you been lyin' to me. Eight. Fuckin'. Months. 

"You was my friend. At least, I thought you was. I was doin' all this to protect you. Ain't I tell you that? That I was gonna try n' make it so no other beast ever hurt you again that day I showed up cryin n' apologizin' for you gettin' hurt? If you'd'a just told me, I would'a figured somethin' out. Instead, you kept quiet n' you n' that wolf what turnt you n' all them other beasts kept *Killin'*. You ain't trust me. N' now I cain't trust you.

"So what proof do you have that you been workin' on this damn cure? You say you been workin' for months? Show me."
Ray
**TW/CW:** *Violence, mention of blood and a violent death in the form of a memory, mention and brief description of xenophobia in the past*

Today was supposed to go by without a hitch. He was going to make dinner and have tea with Akira and Mako and make sure they were doing okay. Akira was still recovering from various injuries while Mako always seemed to work himself to the bone, even with his heart condition and aging body making it more risky to push himself too far - not like Mitica was any better, though. The Hirano family had been through so much, not only concentrated here in Briar Ridge but also in their homeland and other parts of the US. Now, Mitica didn't know lots of details regarding their struggles in Japan (especially Mako's story regarding war) and knew only a little about what they faced elsewhere in places like California and Washington, but he knew that they deserved better than this. Mako was always worried about his daughter and seeing her experience near death events almost every month while Akira was injured again and again. She didn't know who to trust, she didn't know if the person she interacted with next would be her next victim or wouldn't hesitate to kill her on sight. She was young and had a lot of time ahead of her and Mitica tried not to think too hard about all the things she'd need to carry with her throughout her hopefully long life.

He knew what it was like to live with regrets, to live after losing everyone else in your life, to need to literally fight tooth and nail for survival when it felt like anyone you passed by might be more than willing to spit in your face and stab you in an alley for supposedly stealing children or to not be believed because you were an inherent liar who only cared about money and debauchery - allegedly, of course.

Mitica thought this town was better, he *Needed* This town to be better, but even if Briar Ridge didn't look down on him for his ancestry or missing limbs they certainly looked down on others because of another thing they couldn't control. Approaching the house Mita could feel a strange pit form in his gut, something he couldn't explain until he got even closer. Emerging from the woods the older man stopped dead in his tracks, placing a firm hand on Draga's back to make him stop as well. The first thing he spotted was Alma's precious hound Dog clawing at the door, such behavior easily making Draga slink back a little in fear. Deciding to retreat back into the shadows and behind a tree Mitica listened in close, eventually catching wind of three distinct voices. He recognized Akira's any day and the distress in her words always managed to break his heart whenever it appeared. Mako was there too but he couldn't hear him as well. Then, there was Alma - what the hell was she doing here? Peeking out again and staring at Dog he slowly began to piece together that Alma didn't come here for a good reason.

Why would she bring Dog when he was acting so aggressive? Why was Akira's voice so strained and why was Alma's so eerily calm in comparison? What the fuck was going on?

He didn't really think anything as he moved through the forest, hoping to maintain as much cover as possible while he slithered towards the side of the home. Once there was a straight shot towards the side of the house Mitica rushed towards it, keeping his body as low to the ground as he could muster before leaning his back against the outer house walls. Draga followed of course, sensing his owner's urgency and copying, keeping low as well but still seemingly incredibly nervous. Giving his dog a little head pat of encouragement Mitica continued, ducking under windows before popping up to continue as normal, still keeping his body close to the house. Eventually he made it to the back of the home, peeking over the corner to see if anyone else came by and was guarding the back door. Thankfully, it was unguarded, and in swift slinking movements Mitica hurried over. He turned the handle slowly, testing to see if it was unlocked while also being as quiet as possible. With the door unlocked Mitica opened it just enough for him and Draga to slide inside, closing it carefully once he was indoors.

The voices were much clearer now, especially Alma's. What words he did catch chilled him to the bone, his heart rate spiking and fingertips beginning to tremble with another rush of adrenaline. Luckily, Mitica knew this house well, and snuck to an adjacent room. Mitica motioned with his finger, pointing down to instruct Draga to sit. After Draga was seated Mitica held his arms in an *'X'* Formation over his chest, signaling for Draga to stay. Mitica began to leave but Draga started following again, leading to Mitica repeating the process until his nervous dog listened, but not without giving him the wettest, saddest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen.

Eventually Draga obeyed and this left Mitica alone and ready to beat some ass. Peeking out from the room Mitica rushed to another that had access to the kitchen and front of the home. Peering out he saw the scene clear as day - Mako held a gun at Alma, Alma held a gun at Akira, and Akira looked absolutely helpless. She was being held up by her hair and was still very weakened from her injuries. For a moment Mitica was frozen, his mind drifting somewhere else.

Deer antlers. Blood. That *Thing* Fucking impaled her like a kebab. It was supposed to be another morning catching up with her, catching up with his niece, bonding with Essie after eleven whole years of searching. No, instead she lost her life right then and there, because the monsters of Briar Ridge took her. A deformed deer's front facing eyes bore into his own, burning into the back of his head and their owner was her - Alma. There was no way in hell he was going to lose someone else because of this stupid fucking town, they'd have to take them over his dead body!

He was really seeing red now, more flashes of memories rushing by his mind's eye as he approached Alma from behind. Blood on a knife, a lock of someone's hair, cold handcuffs, playing cards snuck in his pants, bruised knuckles. She was so focused on her stupid fucking monologue, talking about proof they were working on a cure. Oh, if only she knew, if only she didn't support an organization that made everyone afraid to be truthful, that made people like Akira afraid to speak up about their agonizing situation and harbored people who couldn't see werewolves as people anymore, then maybe they'd feel more comfortable saying something! Getting a few paces behind her Mitica finally charged, his right hand balled into a fist and wrist deliberately held straight out and stiff to prevent him from accidentally breaking his wrist on impact.

Using the side of his fist with his clenched fingers facing his target Mitica swung with all his might, sucker punching Alma in the jaw and sending her onto her side. As he did so Mitica leaped over, putting his foot on her gun to prevent her from picking it back up, not caring if he also hurt some of her fingers in the process. If she released it during the attack he'd use his foot to slide it across the room but not before giving it a good stomp to try and break it. He didn't say anything as he wasn't entirely sure what to say, he was too enraged to think of anything coherent. Instead he just stared her down, his breathing heavy and fists still balled up in anger, trying to place his body deliberately between her and Akira - at least somewhat, just in case Alma tried anything again. His glasses reflected the sun coming in from the window but behind them his eyes lacked their usually gentle vibe. Instead of looking tired and compassionate or even afraid Mitica's face was contorted into a grimace, his teeth bared and eyebrows furrowed.

It took all of his willpower to not start beating her to a pulp right then and there. **Nobody** Messes with his family and he was more than ready to make her life a living hell if it got the point across, consequences be damned.
Virginia
"Her? Treating us like food? Aka-chan never wanted to hurt anyone ...You have no idea the lengths she'd go to fight this curse!" Mako spat his venom, his gun stood high, but his finger stood far from the trigger. " Don't put me on your side, Cooper. I already chose mine."

 How could Alma not see through this? It was her own father who too got cursed! Poor old Mako tried to understand, but he couldn't as much as he tried, he couldn't even recognize the same woman anymore. How could she not have mercy? Did she not weep for her father after he died? Did she not feel any remorse in attempting to murder an old friend like Akira in cold blood?

Briar Ridge was their home, or at least, that was what the Hirano called it for six years after finding it. Ever since setting foot in foreign soil, Americans looked at Akira and her father with distrust. They saw in a family of three something dangerous and deceitful, they put them in a box, sometimes even going as far as being unwelcomed by hostile locals despite braking their backs with the sweat of their hard work. Why would she betray the very place that for a while treated them like humans for once?

Yes, Akira had hid for eight months. Eight months of agony, almost thirty five weeks of fighting her own hunger, over two hundred and forty three days of trying to find redemption, to find the humanity that she had been stripped from... All to not keep hurting the people of Briar Ridge.

Of course Mako would be on her side, and not just that. He was on the side of every family who had to cower themselves in fear because of a curse that nobody had chosen. He understood their pain. It was him and Mitica who took the nasty silver bullet of his child's thigh, it was him who helped a pack member tend their wounds, it was him who sent Doctor Nathaniel to check up on his daughter. 

Hypocrite. Mako thought, Alma Cooper was a hypocrite. He could easily pull the trigger at any moment and save Akira. If he was branded a

Traitor for doing so, at least he could say he didn't betray his own blood. 

Of course Akira could show proof, it was all in her diary entries, she didn't need to have a gun pointed to her head! She had every single one of their names, their identities, their gifts. Now only that, she knew damn well that Cooper right there was also hiding something, or rather, someone who could speed up the making of the cure.

Akira Hirano, a werewolf, a seer, a human nonetheless, with each layer peeling one by one, was willing to speak in spite the sheer rage she had it boiling deep within her soul. 

The woman opened her mouth, coughing, trying to ignore the spirits of her ancestors as they rattled in her head, powerless spectators of her death, her few alibis. She could hear her mother begging Alma to stop, her great aunt shouting obscenities, Dog was trying to break their front door, her father was screaming.

Everything was so loud... Akira wanted to speak but the world was so loud and angry.

'ああ...うるさい' She whispered. No, she begged for all this noise to stop. The world needed to stop.

And suddenly, it all came to a stop when Mitica broke in, knocking Alma out of the way. 

Her hair was let go, the cold barrel of her gun put away, Akira was free, she could breathe. 

Mako wasted no time to aid his child, not without lowering his own weapon as he put himself over the woman, turning two men into human shields to protect a werewolf.

Or rather... To protect their little family they had left..

_"Aka-chan... Are you okay? Are you okay dear?"_ The old man, despite the poison in his eyes, wept at the sight of Akira's bandages, now all bloody and dirty. All of doctor's Ashworth's hard work, undone. 

_"Too... Noisy..."_ Was the only thing Akira could utter, her eyes stuck to the ceiling, her lips shaking.
Mary
Alma never would have guessed she'd get snuck up on. She knew the Hirano's well enough to be fully aware that Aki's mother had died years ago. It was only supposed to be the two of them. Mako had been the only variable. She should have staked out the house and waited for him to leave. Or she should have jumped Aki when she slipped outside. Or she should have—

It didn't matter now. Somebody's fist met her jaw n' she went flying. Alma may have gotten a hair stronger from her long days of working on the cage, but she was far from what most might call fit. Her cheeks were gaunt from too many skipped meals. The dark circles under her eyes belied the nightmares she was plagued with every single night. She was weak. She'd done what she needed to to win. And now she was tasting blood. Her head swam from the impact. She was only vaguely aware of the sound of something hard crashing uselessly against unyielding metal, and became more aware as her Papa's gun skittered past her face and far out of reach. She groaned, rolling up on her side and cupping her face in her hand. 

That was gonna bruise. 

Her eyes finally found a man she'd only spotted once or twice. He was a good man. She knew of him: Mitica Lakatos. Rhett had donated clothes to him in the winter. He was known for being helpful. Good. *Peaceful.*

It made her laugh. It was a broken, humorless sound. The sound of a woman whose sanity had somehow gotten lost in the mad fight for survival. For protection. For humanity. She rolled onto her back and lifted herself up on her elbows, holding up her palms in the universal sign of defeat at Mako's continued pointing of his gun. Mitica hadn't spoken, so she looked up at the elder Hirano instead with a bloody grin. 

"Easy there, Mr. Hirano. You got me square. I wouldn't pull that trigger if I was you, though. You may have me outnumbered now, but I done told the coalition 'bout your traitorous daughter. If I wind up missin or dead, the numbers ain't gonna be in your favor.

So I suggest we get to talkin'. That's all I want. Answers. Simple."
Virginia
Could Mako pull the trigger? To end what Mitica had started to save his one daughter? Moving out would be the only choice if he were to make that mistake. To flee Briar Ridge, to leave all their pain and grief behind to start a new. But he couldn't do it, not to Alma, his teary eyes met with Cooper's cold ones, only for him to lower his gun in defeat, his free hand covered his face as he let out an anguished sob.

He couldn't do it, he couldn't kill William's child. His heart would never allow it for as long as the memory of his friend lived. The poor old man even felt as if the former Mayor's spirit would never move on if he were to continue the cycle of violence. Was this really what Briar Ridge needed?

Akira coughed once more, this time, trying to let her voice to be heard as it was breaking.

"I was right when I told Shady that... I wasn't _'Aki'_ to you no more... Sometimes I-I still wonder... What would've happened if I died... You wouldn't have to deal with this kind of heartache... Nobody would.." She said, with her eyes teary with no way to hide them. The woman mustered whatever strength she still had in her to sit up, grimacing as Mako threw his own gun away to catch his daughter as she struggled.

_'My diary... Bring it_' Aki said in her native tongue, the words rolling as gentle as they had always been, with a body language to match despite the pain, as if time never went by... As if she held no anger towards Alma for doing what she just did. Her father followed her wishes and went to search in her bedroom, Aki then gestured Mitica to help her stand up so she could take a seat on the couch.

With a faint grunt, she let her body collapse on the cushions, thanking Mita with a shaky nod, she moved her one hand over her shoulder to just take a look at her old wounds, her bandages were stained in crimson, her shirt was dirty too, but she trusted she could give Alma the answers she had been seeking before even thinking of giving Doctor Nathaniel another heart att

Ack.

"I need to start from the beginning." Aki began with a deep breath, as Mako returned with the small journal. " Before I was turned... I had a gift, I can sense people's true nature. You could say I'm some sort of witch, o-or cursed... But the thing is, I know who can make the cure because of this gift. You see, before the full moon, I'd get visions of my ancestors, even my mom came sometimes in my dreams. She warned me of someone at the time. It was April."

Making sure her blood had been dried off her hand, Akira opened the journal on its first entries, her hand trembled and yet she kept the same tenderness she always was known for. There, she saw a name that was once in English originally, translated into neat kana.

```エイプリル・ベイカー```

" On a full moon, I found out she was a werewolf. Now that I look back... I feel like... I feel like I only delayed the inevitable. "Aki's lips quivered as she read her own entry. "If I said something... I'd make these kids orphans... I didn't wanna break what little family she had left, I couldn't bring myself to do it...!I could've never been so... So stupid... So stupid!"

Akira, still holding her diary with the same care she'd do with a small kitten or pup, continued to go over the pages as she tried not to stain them, holding back her own sobbing to continue talking.

"I tried to continue to search for more werewolves, my gift is limited so I could only try to look into one person every month... But shortly after I discovered her... I-I got attacked in your house. It had seemed as if they knew, Alma... They knew I could put the pack in danger. I saw no point in my gift anymore... That's why I isolated myself... I didn't wanna hurt anybody... I didn't wanna be a monster... I still don't... Want to, I refuse...!."

Akira lowered her voice, she needed to keep talking, she needed to stay strong. But the truth was that she could never be like Alma, she didn't have the strength. Despite being able to change every full moon, Aki was far from untouchable. She was powerless, and her worst enemy.

"I couldn't look at you in the eyes no more..." She choked, trying to reach the last page There, she had all the names, she ripped the page, gently placing it on the coffee table.

"This... Is my deception, I've been trying to find the people who can make the cure a reality with my gift ever since that cursed journal was found..." Akira said, particularly fixating her misty gaze in Alma's name, written in kana, reminiscing of the few months she and her met. The youngest of the Coopers had been one of the first people to ever show interest in the Hirano's culture. Akira's enthusiasm went as far as teaching Alma how to write her own name in Japanese, back when Aki herself struggled to say her name out loud. A distant and bittersweet memory.

```エイプリル・ベイカ = 人狼






アルジャーノン・グランビル= (REDACTED)```

"I need to translate these for you... I think you'll recognize a couple of these names, you may even know them personally... I've found the immune, I've found someone with healing hands, I've found a witch," She added. "We've also found out that... The cure is more than just medicine, it's a ritual, and it's more complicated than that.."

Akira bit her lip. "But right now, I want to focus on finding the last person needed for this... I only need to use my powers on one last person to see if they really are who we need..."

Finally, after the struggle that it was to talk, Aki looked up, trying to find a reaction in Alma's eyes, trying to find... Forgiveness.

"I've always wanted to help... I've always wanted to protect the people I love. I'm sorry it took me this long to talk... I'm sorry

For the sins I've committed ...I want to fix it. I have to fix it... For you, for April's babes... For everyone..."