The Seine shimmered under the golden hue of the afternoon sun, its surface a restless mirror reflecting the bustling energy of Paris. Boats glided gracefully across the river, carrying wide-eyed tourists and Parisians enjoying a leisurely cruise. Hizuki Kagerou stood at the edge of the water, his hands buried in the pockets of his coat, his expression a picture of quiet torment. Around him, couples strolled hand in hand, their laughter filling the air like music. The sight only deepened his solitude.
He sighed, his breath curling in the crisp November air. "One last time," he murmured to himself. "Just one more attempt."
For over a hundred years, he had searched for her. His luna. His mate. The dream he'd had just days ago had rekindled his hope, pulling him to Paris with an urgency he couldn't ignore. But now, retracing the steps he'd taken in that dream felt futile. The alleys, the cafes, the cobblestone streets—none of them held a trace of her. She was nowhere. As the minutes ticked by, despair began to weigh on him like a stone.
"Hey, Hizuki," Kagerou's voice echoed in his mind, rich and soothing. "You're squeezing your fists so hard, I'm surprised you haven't crushed your own bones yet. Relax."
Hizuki unclenched his hands, flexing his fingers. "Relax? I've been searching for over a century. All I've found is this... emptiness."
"You're being dramatic," Kagerou quipped. "What's a hundred years in the grand scheme of things? Just a blink of an eye. Besides, I'm here. I'm delightful company."
Hizuki's lips twitched, but the smile didn't quite form. He watched as a young couple passed by, their laughter bright and carefree. It was a stark contrast to the loneliness gnawing at him. "You don't get it, Kagerou. I've been to so many places— seen so many faces. But never hers. Maybe... maybe she's not even alive."
"Don't you dare finish that thought—and of course, I get it. She's my mate too," Kagerou growled, his voice losing its usual humor. "She's alive. I feel it. Don't you trust me?"
Hizuki let out a bitter laugh. "You've been wrong before."
"Once," Kagerou snapped. "And that was because I confused a bakery for a perfume shop. An honest mistake. Oh, I also would never mistake our mate's scent."
Shaking his head with a secret smile, Hizuki turned away from the cheerful scenes along the Seine and began walking back to his hotel. He was just teasing Kagerou. He knew that when it came to their mate, his wolf was more proactive and would never make any errors. There was no need to question that. The heavy silence between him and Kagerou was unusual, but Hizuki couldn't muster the energy to break it. By the time he reached his room, the weight of his fruitless search had settled deep in his chest.
Throwing his coat onto a chair, he sank onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. The room was too quiet, too still. He grabbed the remote control and turned on the television, hoping for a distraction.
"What's that?" Kagerou's curiosity sparked as the TV screen flickered to life. "Humans have these now? When did they stop using shadow puppets?"
"You've been awake for decades, Kagerou. How do you not know what a TV is?" Hizuki muttered, flipping through the channels.
Kageōden, their home, was an old residence. Aside from the necessary repairs it needed, Hizuki, as an old relic of the past himself, didn't feel the need to modernize it unlike the houses of their pack members, save for the new plumbing and toilets. All recreational gadgets were absent in the palace except for the adjacent building where the servants resided. Hizuki didn't have a phone either as he only bothered talking to members of his pack, and he was strong enough to be able to speak to them through telepathy regardless of where he was. For news, his people always reported relevant concerns to him so he didn't bother watching as he was not interested in things unrelated to his people. As for business, he had Iori to deal with it so he didn't need to bother with the company even if he was the chairman.
However, he had traveled a lot and knew about television and other things that came out in the new era. He couldn't remember if he'd actually watched television properly, though, so Kagerou's surprise was a bit expected.
"I've been busy being a legendary wolf. Excuse me for not keeping up with human hobbies," Kagerou retorted.
Hizuki stopped on a channel airing an anime. The screen showed a blond ninja boy declaring his dream of becoming his village's leader. "What's this?" Kagerou asked, his voice laced with fascination. "Is this a moving picture book? And they're speaking in telepathy!"
"It's called anime. And no, they're not speaking in telepathy. It's called dubbing," Hizuki explained, though he was beginning to regret turning on the TV at all.
Kagerou's excitement was palpable. "This is amazing! That ninja kid is running faster than a horse! Is he part wolf?"
"No, he's just... persistent," Hizuki replied, changing the channel before Kagerou could get too invested. He landed on an international music channel, and the room was instantly filled with the roar of a crowd and the pounding beats of a rock concert.
On the screen, a Japanese band wearing wolf masks was performing. The crowd was electrified, their energy contagious even through the television. Kagerou went silent, an unusual occurrence that made Hizuki glance at the screen more closely.
"Hey, Hizuki," Kagerou finally said, his voice tinged with confusion. "These... Man With A Mission people. Why are they revealing our existence to humans?"
Hizuki snorted. "They're not werewolves or Lycans. They're just humans in masks."
Kagerou was quiet for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh. "Humans are so strange. But... I like their style. They're loud, but they have flair."
Despite himself, Hizuki found his gaze lingering on the screen. The band's energy was infectious, and for the first time in days, his mind wasn't consumed by despair. The wolf masks, the pounding music, the ecstatic crowd—it all seemed absurdly fitting.
When the performance ended, Kagerou spoke again, his tone thoughtful. "Hizuki, I've got an idea."
"That's dangerous," Hizuki replied dryly. The wolf, as majestic as he was in the legends, had one issue that was a huge downside in Hizuki's opinion: impulsiveness. Kagerou was one to follow instinct first before reason. It was a natural trait of a wolf, but a problem to Hizuki sometimes, especially when he disagreed and Kagerou would sneak out when he was sleeping anyway to do things he wanted to do with his body. It gave him a lot of headaches.
Regularly, Hizuki followed a mild diet, but he'd wake up sometimes with barbecue sauce at the edge of his mouth and a bit of a stomach cramp. Kagerou had sneaked out to binge on meat while he was sleeping.
"Ha-ha." Kagerou laughed awkwardly, probably also remembering his mischief. "Listen to me. Instead of wandering aimlessly, why don't we let her find us?"
Hizuki frowned. "And how exactly do we do that?"
"Simple," Kagerou said, a grin evident in his voice. "We become unmissable. Make some noise. Stand out. Humans love drama. Why not give them a show? If we're out in the open, she'll have a better chance of finding us."
Hizuki raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly are we doing that?"
"Look at them," Kagerou replied, indicating the singing wolf heads on TV.
"You're suggesting we start a rock band?"
"Why not? You've got the brooding look down. I'll handle the charisma. Together, we're unstoppable," Kagerou declared, his enthusiasm bubbling over.
"You're ridiculous," Hizuki muttered, though a small smile tugged at his lips. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt a flicker of hope—even if it was wrapped in Kagerou's outlandish ideas.
"Ridiculous?" Kagerou shot back. "No. Visionary."
As the TV droned on, Hizuki leaned back against the headboard, his mind whirling with possibilities. Maybe Kagerou was onto something. Maybe it was time to stop chasing shadows and let the light find him.
And maybe, just maybe, this crazy wolf had the right idea after all. But a rock star? Hizuki almost laughed. His excitement was probably an echo of Kagerou's own excitement and not his own. The head of the Shadow Wolf Pack hailed as the Lycan King would not be caught acting like a peacock on stage. Never.