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It was one of those nights again. Nights when Amane just couldn't fall asleep. All the nights here had been like that.
Now he was tired. So extremely tired. But every time he closed his eyes and started to drift to sleep, he woke up in cold sweat, haunted by what had happened.
His inability to sleep probably showed right through him. Tsuchigomori had offered for him to sleep on his office couch during the day. He told Tsuchigomori he could sleep just fine in his own boundary, lying.
Actually he was just curled up in a corner of the third floor girls’ bathroom, trying to pose himself comfortably, hiding under a thick blanket the Mokkes had given him. It was, no doubt, stolen but honestly he couldn't bring himself to care. He had bigger things to worry about. He couldn’t really generate any heat, so the blanket wasn't warming him up in the slightest. Instead it was there just to give him the illusion of safety while he tried not to think about all the hours he'd have to sit in a darkened bathroom, possibly surrounded by all kinds of scary supernaturals, waiting for the morning.
Now he really wished he’d taken up Tsuchigomori’s offer.
His thoughts started wandering, bordering between reality and the strange world of dreams, where everything felt possible, whether that be for better or for worse.
When Amane couldn’t bear to just sit and wait in his corner anymore, he started roaming the halls. Darkness swallowed any distinct details there were to them, making them all seem like clones of each other. The school looked much less friendly in the darkness. Strange shapes drew themselves on the walls from the tiny amounts of light shining in through the windows. The hallways stretched longer, and then returned back to their original form. It was cold. Cold enough that he could see his shaky breath in front of him.
Just then something moved in the corner of Amane's eye. It was just a mokke, wasn't it? He hoped it was.
Amane clutched onto his blanket tighter. He had never before travelled the long hallways after dark. As long as he wears the blanket around himself, nothing bad can get to him, right?
If he was with someone, he would be safe.
He thought about his options, coming to the unsurprising conclusion that there weren’t all that many supernaturals he felt he could trust. Actually, only Tsuchigomori fit the criterion.
He’d said he would be in his boundary, if Amane ever needed him.
He turned his course to the library. Something crunched under his feet. A candy wrapper? Amane didn’t dare bend down to check. The near-deafening silence was also terrifying, making every single crack and creak audible.
The only problem was that the hallways had turned themselves into a maze, disorienting him, appearing identical when there was nothing to light them up, all details concealed by the shadows. If he had been counting the doors and turns correctly, he should be okay. But what if he had missed one? Or counted one too many? He would inevitably get lost and be forced to wait until the morning light breaks and starts bringing some colour and expression to the hallways.
But what if the supernaturals hiding in the shadows got to him first? He was supposed to be the Honourable Number Seven! The one whose duty it is to keep order among the supernaturals! But he was just a child, how was he actually supposed to protect himself?
Amane was starting to really second guess himself. What if this isn't even what Tsuchigomori meant when he told Amane where he could be found? Would he just tell Amane to man up if he told him that he can't sleep?
A loud thud echoed in the hallway. Amane looked frantically around, hoping to find the source of it before he was taken over by panic.
It was just something falling down. Or the walls must have just been adjusting. Or maybe a door had slammed shut. No, that would mean there was something there with him. And Amane couldn't think of anything friendly that would be on the move at this hour.
He ran. Ran until he figured there was no way for that something to still be after him. But while running, he had failed to keep track of where he was going. He stopped to catch his breath. His heartbeat echoed in his ears, his whole body shaking, his eyes having a hard time focusing on anything.
Amane turned his attention back to his surroundings. After turning the corner, there was a stairway. And he could recognize the stairway! The library was just at the other end of the stairs. He was so relieved he took off sprinting down the stairs. After a few steps he tripped on his blanket, almost going down flying, just barely catching himself on the railing. He crouched down, not letting go of the railing, once again taking a moment to try and get his breathing to calm down.
Slowly, he rose back up and walked the rest of the stairs down carefully, holding onto the railing so tight his knuckles started turning white. Every single step echoed in the empty stairway. They could be mistaken for thunder, Amane thought.
To the left was the library door. Luckily it wasn’t locked. When Amane peeked in, it was just as dark as the rest of the school building. He felt a bit discouraged, but decided to still get in carefully, straining his eyes to see enough not to bump into the table corners or piles of books.
The bookshelves were towering over Amane, seeming almost threatening. He wandered through them, deeper and deeper. It felt like he could just be swallowed by the endless rows of shelves. Finally, he noticed a small, warm light in between the bookshelves. It coloured the immediate surroundings in an orange tone, resembling a sunset. There was no clear source for the light, but that didn’t matter to the small ghost trying to find safety. He hurried towards it, afraid it would disappear if he waited too long.
The dim beam of light was almost in front of him, but just as he stepped into it, something flew past him. Amane jumped back, hitting the bookshelf behind him. Several books and other knick knacks crashed down around him. Amane hurried to cover his head with his arms, hiding under the blanket, as if that would have protected him from either the falling books, or whatever that flying thing had been.
For a long time Amane was too scared to move, almost paralyzed. His body shook wildly and he felt tears forming in his eyes. He was so close, yet so far from what should be a safe place.
The only thing he could hear was his uneven breathing. If there was something hostile lurking amidst the books, surely it would have found Amane already, just by following his breathing.
Amane decided to finally look up, seeing a butterfly resting on one of the books illuminated by the light beam. A sigh of relief left his lips as he wiped the tears off with his sleeve.
The book the butterfly landed on corresponded with what Tsuchigomori had described when he told Amane how to find his boundary. Amane touched the spine of the book and suddenly an entire door appeared in front of him. He placed his hand on the handle and turned it.
The inside of Tsuchigomori’s boundary was dimly lit throughout by lanterns scattered around the walls and shelves. An improvement to what was before. Amane stopped for a moment, just to admire the cave-like structure of the place. He noticed the water only once he stepped into it. Tsuchigomori hadn't mentioned that.
Amane lifted his blanket up, so as not to get it wet. He wandered deeper into the boundary, admiring the high bookshelves filled to the brim with books. All of them had names on them. The school's students' names, Tsuchigomori had told him. Amane supposes there would be one for him too, but he had no desire to find it.
After walking past a few rows of bookshelves, Amane coud finally see Tsuchigomori. He was sleeping in a hammock made of spider web. Amane felt nervous again, worried if Tsuchigomori would just laugh at him. But Amane had come this far, he couldn’t turn back now.
He got closer but wasn't sure what he would even say.
He touched the hammock with his hands, making it swing a bit. Tsuchigomori moved, turning around to see Amane. Amane retreated, nervous.
Tsuchigomori lifted himself up slightly, leaning on his elbow, taking a look at Amane.
"What is it?" Tsuchigomori asked softly. He tried to read Amane's expression.
Now that Amane was finally safe, he felt his composure break down. He couldn't bring himself to make any sound. He was shaking and clinging onto his blanket tightly. His lower lip trembled and a tear on his cheek caught the light when he moved slightly.
Tsuchigomori sat up, "Hey- it's okay, come here," he said and opened his arms for Amane to climb into his lap.
Amane did just that. His tiny hands held tightly onto Tsuchigomori’s shirt as he curled into himself.
"Nightmares?" Tsuchigomori asked carefully.
He felt Amane quietly nod against him.
To Tsuchigomori, he looked so small and vulnerable. He wrapped a few of his extra arms around Amane, using one of his normal arms to find the kid's head and ruffle his hair.
"I've got you, you're safe now," he reassured.
Not long ago this kid, Yugi Amane, had died. And just a few days ago he was appointed to be the leader of the Seven Mysteries. That was a lot of responsibility to put on anyone, especially a child who had just gone through something as terrible as that.
Tsuchigomori wished he had been able to do something more to help him when he was still alive. But he hadn't. He regretted it bitterly, but there was nothing he could do to change the past.
All he could do now was to be kind to this little, scared ghost, who had no one else on his side.
Amane kept trying to hug onto him tighter, to get closer to him. And Tsuchigomorl kept holding Amane securely, but afraid he might hurt the child, as his cuts and bruises still hadn’t healed. They probably never would, he was a ghost after all.
Amane finally spoke. "Can I stay here with you?" he asked, scared he'd be told no.
But Tsuchigomori could never be that cruel. "Of course," he mumbled, moving to make space for Amane.
Amane dropped his blanket on the floor and climbed up right next to Tsuchigomori, as the teacher draped his own blanket over them both and positioned himself better to hold Amane.
Tsuchigomori pressed a small kiss on Amane's forehead. "You know, I'm always here for you," he spoke, running his fingers through the boy's hair, "so don't ever be afraid to tell me if there's something wrong."
Amane was not really sure how to respond, he was sure he was just being a burden. But finally he just nodded slowly and buried his face against Tsuchigomori's chest. Just being held made him feel a lot better.
"Good night Amane, love you," Tsuchigomori whispered.
"...Love you too," Amane answered. It had been a long time since anyone had told him that. He'd almost forgotten how nice it was, to feel loved.
After some time Tsuchigomori seemed to fall asleep again. Amane didn't mind it, he felt safe as long as his teacher was there.
He clung tighter onto Tsuchigomori, wanting to really feel the closeness to another person. Warmth was also nice, he thought.
Slowly sleep started coming to him, too, and he felt himself drift away to get some well-deserved rest.
He was lucky he had someone who cared so much for him.
When Tsuchigomori woke up in the morning, Amane was still asleep in his arms. He looked so peaceful Tsuchigomori couldn’t bring himself to wake him up, who knows when he last got a full night’s sleep? Instead he decided to stay a little longer in bed with Amane, holding him close.