Chapter 1 – The Calling

A/N: Hey everyone. I've had this idea for a long time and after finishing Nioh 2, I just had to write it down. The chapters will switch between William or Hide.

Disclaimer: I don't own Nioh.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

He rose from the murky depths, the chilling water rushing past him. A prey was near. It was slow. He went straight for it, opening his massive jaws wide and devouring it. The water became tainted. A noise came from above; the surface. A new prey.

He blinked.

He was now flying through the dark balcony of the forest. He flapped his powerful wings, gliding through one branch to another. He burst through the trees, his burning eyes immediately catching sight of two humans standing by the lake. They were talking, but he couldn't understand them. He dove down with a piercing cry, his claws reaching for them as they screamed-

Hide shot up, panting with cold sweat. His horns were out and pulsing with power. The noise. The noise…!

"Easy there,"

He winced at the bright light shining on his face and looked over to see Tokichiro looking at him with wariness and concern. He was kneeling a safe distance from him. His hand that was holding the glowing crystal was shaking nervously as if he feared another violent outburst.

"Hiddy?" said Tokichiro carefully.

Hide took a deep breath and willed his horns away before nodding at him. His companion sighed in relief and the golden crystal shattered into nothing. Without the gentle glow, they were plunged back into the darkness of their camp. The fire they started earlier that night was nothing but dim embers.

"Another bad dream?" he asked.

Hide grunted and looked down at his hands. They were definitely human. He reached for his face and rubbed his cheek to feel smooth skin. No scales, no feathers.

Tokichiro relaxed and sat cross-legged, scratching his cheek awkwardly. "So….do you have these often? That's the third one in two days," Hide nodded. The peddler grinned. "Well, if this keeps up, I'll be running out of crystals before I could make a fortune with them!"

Hide ducked his head in shame.

"W-wait, no! I didn't mean it like that. I was just joking!" Tokichiro said frantically. The shiftling raised his head and offered a nod in acknowledgment.

These strange dreams and outbursts occurred when he used his shifting abilities too often, when his connection to the other realm was at its strongest. A flood of visions would fill his mind. A peculiar noise would creep at the back of his head, blurring most of his thoughts and leaving him with nothing but the feeling of his weapon and the will to survive. While facing a malicious yokai, it took so much of him to stay focused with the whispers and the buzzing that threatened to consume him. Telling a friend apart from an enemy during such moments could be challenging. He dreaded to think of opening his eyes one day and finding Tokichiro or some innocent bystander torn up on the ground by his doing.

He still remembered the first time he changed into a yokai and how it frightened him to death, though to be fair he had only been a child. What still frightened Hide, deep down, were the anger, resentment and despair that would rush through him whenever he shifted into different yokai. They felt too real, like he could lose himself to them if he got careless and let go for a split second. It was terrifying, yet he couldn't escape them no matter how hard he tried.

That was why he resolved to only use that ability during battles.

Someone suddenly flicked his ear, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Lost me already?" said Tokichiro teasingly. He chuckled at the slight downturn of Hide's brows, signifying his annoyance. The peddler did things like that quite a lot just to get a reaction out of Hide outside of the constant blank gaze. "I'm sure what you have to go through must be tough, but have no worry. My spirit stones and I are all you need!" Hide sighed under his beaming face.

"Now how about we try to get some rest? We have a long road ahead of us and I'm not travelling around with only six hours of sleep…" Tokichiro yawned and went back to his spot. He mumbled groggily. "Good night, Hiddy,"

Hide sat there for a while, contemplating on whether or not falling asleep was a good idea. What's the point if he was going to end up being plagued by nightmares again? He glanced at the forest surrounding them, imagining the noise coming back, the pull to join the spirits of this mountain. He spent all of his life in hiding, away from people and yokai, not knowing which side he belonged to. Slaying demons and thugs was the only thing a creature like him was good for. There was never anything else. Lately, Hide had been wondering if he was better off back in his small hut without the trouble of his yokai side acting up so frequently.

A loud snore made him look at the man beside him, already fast asleep. Hide watched him closely and a light tug pulled at his lips, barely noticeable to a nearby observer.

Maybe that wasn't entirely true. He did have the job of helping this strange man and as tiring as he could be sometimes, he still had given Hide something to work for.

He laid down again and closed his eyes. He imagined the visions and the noise once more and decided that there was a purpose for him in the world of humans, so he had more of a reason to resist them than before.

XXXXXXXXX