Shining in the Darkness

 is one of the original non-canon short stories from Natsumi Mukai's +Anima manga.

Synopsis
A travelling merchant, Gates, is heading towards the mountain town Antsmine when he is ambushed by three bandits who are actually Husky, Senri and Nana Alba in disguise. Cooro flies down from above and chases the trio away; Gates is grateful for being saved and rewards Cooro with 20 Gillah. Cooro then flies away and back to his friends where they count their haul and decide to head into town for something to eat.

In Antsmine, the children look through the market stalls. Sheriff Hopps approaches them and talks about the rumors of travellers being attacked by bandits and by a +Anima just outside of town. They feign ignorance about the matter, and he leaves.

Gates does business with a local merchant before heading to the food court when he finds Cooro. They discuss +Anima, and how Gates admires them. Nana interrupts, so Gates asks to meet with Cooro later. She asks Cooro what they were talking about, but he dodges the question.

Later, Cooro goes to meet Gates at one of the mine tunnels. Gates explains that there is a +Anima in the tunnel that wants to meet Cooro, and guides him in. Once deep in the darkness, Gates puts on his Pseudo Anima suit and reveals that he plans to capture him and research Cooro's wings. Cooro tries to fly away but has difficulty in the dark, narrow tunnel. Gates easily catches up and pins Cooro to the ground, however Senri shows up to rescue Cooro. Senri is also at a disadvantage against the Pseudo Anima's wildcat abilities, so with a rope, Nana guides them both back to the tunnel entrance.

Outside, Husky is waiting with Sheriff Hopps. Nana hides her wings, embarassed. Husky accuses Gates of luring Cooro into the tunnel, while Gates says that the children attacked him. Hopps takes Gates into the tunnel under the guise of hearing his side of the story in private, however reveals himself to also be a +Anima and destroys the Pseudo Anima suit. Hopps then takes the children to the edge of town, gives them some food, and kicks them out, with the advice not to make people hate +Anima.