Disclaimer: I own nothing from Seraph of the End and everything belongs to their respective owners.

Note: This idea simply came from a scene in the newest episode. Although I always did wonder why this wasn't covered in the manga (from what I have read, correct me if I'm wrong though).

So Familiar

This really was war, Yoichi now realized this. As the burning smell of smoke and ash surrounded them, it vaguely reminded him of a time many years ago. When the raging cold and winds would blow past his family's home, the flames that had burned within the small fireplace had kept them warm. Safe. The flames that surrounded him now were a contradiction to everything that he had remembered from then.

Two more vampires sprang towards him from the air. Two arrows released from the boy's bow, only one of them found their intended mark. The other vampire had only been grazed, but it still came towards him, weapon advancing quickly. Yoichi didn't have time to notch another arrow right away; he dodged to the side, summoning an arrow as he turned towards the vampire.

Something stopped him from releasing the arrow though, something beyond the advancing vampire. The enemy had landed a few feet away from him, but Yoichi's gaze was cast beyond that, towards another.

He could easily tell it was another vampire by the red eyes and fangs; the outfit was similar except there was no hood. Yu-kun said something about them being a noble if there isn't a hood, the brown-haired boy recalled, frozen in his tracks. Sure, it did scare him with how much power they had, but something about this vampire…

This feeling… why does he seem so familiar?

Many hours – even days - later, when they were all waiting for Yuichiro to wake up, he had time to think. The appearance of the vampire didn't give off any hints, but recalling the picture to his mind made him sick. Nausea swept through him as he put his head between his knees, hoping desperately for it to go away. His head pounded and something was squeezing his chest painfully.

Yoichi wanted to say that it was a combination of post-battle nerves and their friend being hurt. Even now, his mind (or maybe it was Gekkoiun?) was reminding him of how many lives he must have ended during the battle. Even though the vampires were technically the enemy, he hadn't wanted to kill anyone.

"She's right. I don't want to kill, but I don't want any of my friends to get hurt," the brown-haired boy muttered to himself as he continued to stare at the floor. He didn't know what the point was in repeating it to himself. Maybe some sort of truth would come from it, but he wasn't sure.

"Yoichi," someone's voice caused the boy to sit up a bit too quickly, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded as the other room's occupant – Kimizuki – came to sit in the chair beside him. "How's Yu-kun doing?"

Even as Yoichi asked the question, he felt worry mix with the tightness swirling in his stomach. The nausea hadn't left; if only, sitting up made it worse, so he tried to lean back in the chair. The boy's head rested against the wall as he tried to redirect his thoughts from the sickening feeling. After all, it was selfish of him to feel bad about his own sickness when their friend hadn't woken up yet.

"Still no change. Shinoa took over the watch for now." Kimizuki shook his head. They had been cycling in and out of watching over their friend for the past few days; one of them would sit in the recovery room while the others got food and rested. So far, the system had worked, but it got tiring after a while. The pink-haired teen had been watching over Yu, but now Shinoa would let them know if anything changed. Then it's my turn.

"Do you need to get anything to eat, Kimizuki-san?" Yoichi asked after a moment, noticing how tired his friend looked. He was pretty sure everyone was tired, but it still made him worry. Mitsuba had left the room a while ago saying she was going to take a shower. It's probably more for relaxation. "I could let you know if Shinoa informs us of any changes."

"I'm alright," the other teen stated, appearing as though he were lost in thought. The brown-haired boy was pretty sure that his friend hadn't eaten for a while – Yoichi hadn't eaten since the early morning but he didn't want to leave either – but there was nothing he could say to change that.

The room surrendered to silence and the brown-haired boy was left to his thoughts once more. He tried to move beyond the glimpse he had gotten of the purple-haired vampire. The one that had dodged his attack had been coming towards him, and then-

"Thank you for saving me," the boy gave a slight bow, finding it difficult to do so when he was seated, towards his friend. I'm overly late on an apology; I hope he understands. The thought caused him to close his eyes, not sure why it seemed slightly negative.

"Hmm?" Kimizuki looked over at him, probably thinking over the same thing. "It's alright, but you need to stay focused. It would have been bad if any one of us got hurt more than we had."

"Mm-hmm," the boy hummed in agreement, nodding as he looked towards the hallway. Shinoa hadn't come down it yet, but it had only been a few minutes. He was being too anxious.

Yoichi shifted in his seat, silently wincing at the burning sensation that ripped through his shoulder. It was probably just his imagination, but the almost week old bite felt warm. Was it possible to get sick from that sort of thing?

"I'll be right back," the boy stated as he stood up, not necessarily stating where he was going. He moved in the direction of the rest room, knowing that it was self-explanatory despite the fact that he didn't necessarily need to go. Instead, he let the water from the sink run over his hands.

Why did that vampire bother me so much? The thought brought back the image from a few days ago. It wasn't necessarily the physical appearance of the vampire, but it was what he felt when the boy saw him. Darkness practically radiated from the vampire, but something had felt so familiar that it caused the feeling to linger for days.

When he focused on the lingering image, a flash of memory came back to him; one of pitch darkness, cramped spaces, and blood. He covered his mouth with his hand, suddenly glad that he was in the bathroom. The feeling had increased in intensity, canceling out all other senses as the boy leaned against the wall.

Why did the memory bother him now? Why did seeing that vampire cause him to freeze? To feel such sadness?

"Hey," Kimizuki's sudden appearance caused him to look up in surprise. The brown-haired boy found that he was huddled on the ground, hands covering his head. He didn't remember doing that though… "You've been in here for a while."

For a moment, Yoichi thought that something must have changed with Yu. The way that Kimizuki walked over to him, however, told him otherwise. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" his friend's gaze softened to one of concern. What was he supposed to say?

"I feel-" the boy shook his head, a weak laugh leaving him as he struggled not to cry. "Yu-kun was so hurt and I couldn't… I shouldn't be… selfish, but…"

He bit his lip as Kimizuki bent down, resting a hand on his shoulder. The boy's breaths were ragged as he tried to ignore everything he felt: the pain, the sickness, and the worry for his friend. He couldn't keep it in though – he knew that from the start – so the brown-haired boy leaned forward and hugged the pink-haired teen as he shook.

Yoichi knew that – by the way Kimizuki momentarily froze – it must have been unexpected and an extreme violation of private space, but some part of him didn't care. Sure, Yu was bothered by the sudden hugs that the boy tended to give out too, but it was just who he was. He couldn't help not being able to hold in his emotions.

"It'll be alright," Kimizuki's voice was reassuring and confident, despite the doubt that he must have been feeling. "Yu's going to get through this; he owes us that much. He's too stubborn to stay asleep forever."

The brown-haired boy leaned against the wall again, letting a small laugh leave him as the other teen handed him a tissue. Once all evidence of a breakdown was gone – except for the puffiness and redness of his eyes – they both exited the room, hopefully leaving behind whatever had bothered him.

For a while, the feeling did disappear. Mitsuba came back from her shower, her blonde hair slightly damp and dripping before they went to grab something from the cafeteria. Yoichi knew that they were all forcing themselves to eat; how fair was it that they could when Yu was in a coma? He quickly ignored the thought, pretending that their friend was just resting. That made things better.

When it came time for him to take over the watch duty, the brown-haired boy left and made his way to Yu's recovery room. Shinoa would probably be gone by the time he got there; she never seemed to be in the room when they switched shifts, if only by a few seconds.

The hallways were silent as his footsteps echoed. Yoichi had never been bothered by the sound, but being alone suddenly made the feeling come back. He tried not to focus on it – knowing that if he did it would become worse – but being left alone in an empty hallway late at night didn't necessarily help.

It started with a smell, one that was too unclean for the hospital in general. He knew it was just his imagination, but convincing himself of the fact wasn't the problem. It was the memory that was brought with the smell, one that he hadn't experienced since the Cursed Gear trials. He was worried that – if he accused Gekkoiun of giving him hallucinations – she would become angry. He knew it probably wasn't her; this sort of thing had occurred before, but not for years.

The longer the imagined smell continued, the more paranoid of a feeling invaded him. He looked around the hall worriedly, half-hoping that someone would appear and walk alongside him. The probability of that happening – as well as the idea that such a thing occurring wouldn't scare him – was very unlikely.

His pace quickened as the time continued onward. Briefly he found himself wondering if he had taken a wrong turn or maybe they had moved Yu to a room further into the hospital. But no, it was just his imagination making the trip longer, drawing it out.

Yoichi wasn't one to normally jump at shadows – yes, he was afraid of many things, but had learned to cope with such happenings over the years – but one moment he would see something and when he turned to look, then it was gone. Everything seemed cliché. As he rounded the corner, however, the sight caused his eyes to widen in shock.

Red covered the walls and floor in front of him as the sickening smell increased. His head began to hurt from the sight, as well as whatever implications of such a scene meant. Fear caused his breaths to quicken and he paused as he felt a presence behind him.

A split second later, Yoichi had called his bow and was pointing an arrow at a purple-haired figure. He blinked in surprise when he realized that he recognized that person. "Shinoa-san?"

"Yoichi?" she murmured, blinking in shock for a moment as he dismissed his weapon. "What were you-?"

"I-I thought I saw something," as the boy looked around, he realized that his mind had been playing tricks on him. The hallway was overly clean – without any trace of blood – as they stood outside of Yu's room. He didn't want to elaborate, but Shinoa seemed to understand enough.

"Well then, I assume you're taking over from here?" he nodded at her inquiring. "I'll see you in a little bit then."

The girl walked away without any sort of teasing, making him feel worse about the situation. We all aren't our normal selves, he thought as he entered the room, taking one last look at their departing comrade. For a moment, her purple-haired darkened and her outfit melded into one of black and white. When he blinked, she was normal again.

"I probably should have taken a nap," the brown-haired boy whispered, going to sit in the chair beside the bed where Yu was resting. Their friend did seem to be getting better. The black-haired boy was breathing evenly and the majority of any injuries that he had sustained seemed to be healed.

A question persisted in the back of Yoichi's mind though. Why did I imagine that vampire? He shook his head, not wanting to dwell on it. Things were what they were; he couldn't change that.

The silence resumed again, but Yoichi realized it was different this time. It was still dark in the room, with the moon being the only source of light, but he didn't feel as afraid anymore. When Yu-kun's here, I think we all feel a little braver. The thought made him smile as he rested his head on the bed, finding that the feeling was gone.

"You'll wake up soon, right Yu-kun?" the brown-haired boy began to talk, not quite expecting an answer. "Kimizuki-san said you can't stay asleep forever, and I believe him too. I think we all have so much more to experience when we're all together so when you're ready, please come back to us."

Another Yoichi POV, in-between fanfic! I got this idea when watching the latest episode (episode 11, I think). In the manga, from what I have read (volumes 3 and 4) it seems like the other characters faded a bit too fast during the Shinjuku battle, leaving out any side-conflicts and reactions from the other characters (not to be disrespectful to the authors/illustrators), so I figured I would write this one. Was really impressed when Yoichi seemed to 'recognize' Lacus in the episode, so that moment spawned this. Sorry if it was a bit drawn out, but I hope everyone like it!

-AnimeWolfGirl9