Archive of Our Own

Akito wasn’t sure when exactly the nightmares started.

All he knew was that while the day had been normal (well, normal as their day could be with their brand-new schedule) he woke up in a panic one night from a dream he couldn't remember clearly. All he could recall was a few hazy moments, but he was sure they weren’t anything good.

He’d managed to fall back asleep that night, thank goodness, but it soon became a problem every night, to the point where the dreams officially became routine. He started showing up to practice noticeably more tired than usual, his teammates pointing out his exhaustion with clear concern, but he was unable to tell them about the strange dreams. Although he knew they’d be disappointed if they learned, Akito told himself it was fine as long as the dreams remained as brief and forgettable.

But finally they weren’t, and that’s when things began to take a turn for the worse.

Nn…

Akito dragged himself off of his bed, glancing at his phone. That’s weird. Why didn’t my alarm go off?

…Well, whatever. I need to get ready for my run.

He made his way to the bathroom, where he turned on the faucet and splashed his face to wake himself up a little bit more. Grabbing a towel to dry himself off, he happened to glance up at the mirror.

A skull stared right back at him, its eye sockets completely empty.

Akito jolted awake with a gasp, feeling sweat beading up on his forehead. He grabbed for his phone, desperately tapping the screen to see the time. 3 am…

What was that?

He realized a moment later that his entire body was covered in sweat, leaving him feeling sticky and gross. He carefully sat upright, feeling his face to make sure it was still covered in skin unlike the skull in his nightmare. Of course it is.

It was just a dream…

He groaned, swinging his legs off the bed. He stumbled across his room (tripping over his desk chair on the way) and managed to find the room to his door, opening it up. He walked across the hallway and stepped into the bathroom, slowly turning on the light. His own face stared warily back at him from the mirror, and he let out a sigh of relief. Thank God.

Akito splashed water onto his face, occasionally glancing up to make sure it was still his. His shaky hands spilled the water all over his shirt, leaving him soaked, but he ignored the sensation and turned the water off. He walked back to his room and dropped back onto bed, wrapping himself up in his blanket and firmly resolving to not have any more dreams.

Naturally his brain—only a brain as stubborn as his would continue to do things like this—refused to listen to what the rest of his body was telling it, and the following night had him all but falling out of bed from a nightmare where he choked on marigold petals overflowing from his throat. Sitting upright, Akito grabbed the water bottle on his night stand and chugged all of its contents, nearly coughing it all back up when it flowed down the wrong pipe. These nightmares are beginning to annoy me.

Seriously, why is this happening to me?

Maybe I should see a doctor…

…Nah, it’s not worth it. I wouldn’t want to waste money on an appointment just so they can tell me to go to bed earlier or something like that.

But this is going to start impacting me soon…

“Whoa, Akito! How much sleep did you get last night?! You look terrible!”

“Thanks,” Akito grumbled as he took his seat beside An. “I pulled an all-nighter. No big deal.”

She frowned at him as she pulled her textbook out, looking concerned. “Seriously, dude. I can see the bags under your eyes. Are you sure you’re okay?”

An genuinely sounded worried. Akito had no doubt in his mind that his best friend was checking up on his health because she cared about him.

Which is why he couldn’t tell her he was being kept up by something as embarrassing as nightmares.

“I swear, An, I’m just tired.”

“If you say so,” she said skeptically.

He felt bad about lying to her, but he couldn’t tell her the truth.

“Shinonome-kun, did you get any sleep last night?” Kohane asked him. They were sitting in the cafe together, waiting for Ken to finish setting up the equipment, and she had finally spoken up after a few minutes of quietly staring at him. “You…well, I’m sorry for phrasing it like this, but you look terrible.”

“I know, thanks.”

“Akito,” Toya scolded gently, taking his hand. “She’s just concerned.”

“Yeah!” An jumped in, eager to defend her girlfriend. “Geez, you don’t have to be rude about it!”

“I know, I know. I’m not really mad, ‘Hane,” Akito promised her, ginning slightly. She smiled back, plainly relieved. “I’m still worried, though,” she continued. “Shinonome-kun, you look half-asleep standing up.”

“Akito, you have seemed more tired today than normal, even with how intense practice was yesterday,” Toya chimed in. “Is there a reason why?”

An folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow at him. She was clearly waiting for him to explain (as expected, she hadn’t bought his “all-nighter” story.)

“Hey, kids, I finished setting up.”

Akito thanked all of the gods he knew individually and by name for the distraction as he turned to face Ken, smiling. “Thanks, Ken-san. Should we start practicing?”

Ken’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked at him, but he nodded. “Sure. Did you pick out a track list already?”

Akito caught An’s exasperated eye roll, as well as Kohane’s anxious expression and Toya’s frown. He felt bad for lying to his friends, but how could he tell them he was losing sleep from nightmares? What was he, a little kid?

They’d probably take you more seriously then you’d think, considering your nightmares are about all the awful ways you could die, the reasonable part of his brain pointed out.

No way.

What does it cost to rely on them?

Akito grabbed a mic and prepared for practice, doing his best to push back the guilty feeling gnawing at his insides.

Where am I? This doesn’t feel like my body.

Is this another dream?

It looks like…a hospital. Am I inside a doctor’s body? I can’t move…

Huh? Is that Toya and the girls?

Oh…Ena and Mom are there, too…and so’s Dad and Ken-san.

Why’s everybody crying…?

He turned around in an attempt to see what was wrong, why everyone was so sad.

He saw his own body lying in a hospital bed.

Akito nearly hit the lamp on his desk with his pillow when he sat up, gasping for breath. His heart was beating so fast you would’ve thought he’d just run a marathon.

I need these stupid dreams to stop.

I don’t have time for this. I have to keep practicing, and I can’t if I’m losing sleep like this.

…We need the practice more than ever after that battle with Taiga-san.

His brain seemed to spark for a second, perhaps making some kind of connection, but it lacked the energy to do so. Feeling exhausted, Akito dropped back onto his pillows with a sigh. If I go back to sleep now, then I might be able to squeeze in two hours before I have to get up and run…

Who am I kidding? I can’t go back to sleep after that.

Every time he closed his eyes, the hospital flashed back into his head, along with his friends’ faces. Toya’s expression in particular had been so heartbroken he wished he’d never seen it.

…I know that if it weren’t for them, that may as well have been a vision of the future.

Akito firmly shut his mind up, sitting back up and swinging his legs out of bed. I obviously won’t go back to sleep like this. I might as well use the time productively.

He made his way to his desk and sat down to look at the lyrics he’d been writing before bed, desperate to tire himself out to a point where the nightmares wouldn’t come. Let’s see, this line was kinda weak, so I’ll change it out with…

No matter what he did to try and make them go away the brutal dreams continued, each more worse than the last. Akito began to wonder whether he needed serious help or not as his brain kept coming up with new and horrific scenarios for him to see every night, each nightmare ending in his own death. Although they were harder to recall in the morning, every painful moment was ingrained into his head for his brain to reuse it later. Time wore on and even just returning to his room every night became a chore, Akito beginning to dread falling prey to the nightmares that would inevitably wake him again once he fell asleep.

What could the cause of this be, though? Akito thought to himself as he listened to his teacher drone on about some formula. He’d only had a couple hours of sleep that night, so his head felt like it was filled with cotton balls. As a result, paying attention to class was more of a challenge than usual.

…Does it have to do with Nagi-san?

They’d learned just last month that Nagi Kotaki, An’s “aunt,” had died of pancreatic cancer shortly after RAD WEEKEND, leading to RADder disbanding before they’d formed Vivid BAD SQUAD. It was possible that somewhere in a tiny part of his brain, he was terrified of the same happening to one of them—what would he do if An, Kohane or even Toya died?

Akito quickly banished the thought, determined to keep his head from beating him back again. We’ll be fine. Nothing terrible’s going to happen to us.

It could’ve, his brain insisted. They wouldn’t even have known you existed.

Shut up.

His brain was silent, and Akito dragged his attention back to the class with Herculean effort.

“So what’ve you got for us today, K?”

Kanade cleared her throat, clicking a few buttons on her keyboard. “Okay, so Mafuyu came up with the lyrics earlier, but they’re not quite done yet, so we’ll check them out once I’ve you shown you the demo. Should I send it over now?”

“Yes, please!” Mizuki said eagerly. “What theme did you pick this time, Mafuyu?”

“I was thinking we should go with the theme of breaking free,” Mafuyu answered neutrally. Ena could only guess where this had come from and smiled proudly to herself. “K came up with a really beautiful melody.”

“Thank you, Yuki. Now here we go.”

“Ohh, this is beautiful,” Ena gushed as she opened the file on her computer, Kanade’s music playing gently through her headphones. “K, you have to let me start drawing this as soon as—”

She was cut off by a yell of terror from the room beside hers, followed by a loud thud. An awkward silence rang out until Kanade cleared her throat. “Enanan, that sounded like it came from your mic. Are you alright?”

Was that Akito?

That doesn’t make sense, though. I’ve never heard him scream like that before…

“Enanan, are you there?”

“Earth to Enanan!”

Ena quickly ripped her headphones off of her head and raced out of her bedroom, opening the door to Akito’s room and flicking on the light. “Akito? What was that?”

Her brother was struggling to stand up, cursing as he untangled the covers from around his legs. He tripped and fell backwards as she rushed to his side, concerned. “Shit—Ena? What are you doing here?”

“Checking on you, dummy,” she retorted, helping unwrap the blanket. “Did you fall? What happened?”

It was then that she got a good look at her brother’s face for the first time in days (he’d been leaving the house earlier and earlier lately, so she hadn’t been able to notice). Dark purple circles marked the area underneath his eyes, and his skin was so pale it was almost white. He looked so exhausted she was surprised he was still standing.

She stared at him in horror. “Akito, what happened?”

Akito’s eyes slid to the floor, clearly avoiding her gaze. “None of your business.”

“Obviously it’s my business! You look terrible! Besides, I heard you scream a few minutes ago. Explain that!”

“Nothing happened! It was just a nightmare, okay?!” Akito yelled.

“A…nightmare?”

A faint red blush tinted his cheeks. Ena felt slightly guilty for phrasing it in such an insensitive tone. “Sorry, that’s…that’s embarrassing. Look, I’m fine, so you can get back on your call now—”

“Absolutely not. I’m not heading back until I make sure you’re okay.”

Akito deflated with a sigh. “Ena, I swear nothing’s wrong. I’ve just been having nightmares every now and then. It’s not that big of a deal.”

”Define ‘every now and then.’”

“…Every night for the past two weeks.”

“Oh my goooooooood,” Ena groaned loudly, dropping her face in her hands. She could not believe him sometimes. "Akito.”

He frowned defensively. “They’re just dreams, Ena.”

“My stupid baby brother.” Ena put her hands on his shoulders for emphasis, ignoring him as he swatted them off. "Look at your face. You look like you haven’t slept in days! I’m honestly shocked that Toya-kun hasn’t, like, chained you to your bed at this point. Does he even know about this?”

“…No. You’re the only one that does.”

Akito’s tone was quieter than it had been all night, and Ena felt herself soften a bit. “What kind of nightmare did you have tonight?” she asked him.

“You’ll make fun of me.”

“Would you give me a chance to play the big sister role just this once, dumbass?”

He scoffed. “Right after saying that you call me a dumbass?”

He fell silent again, picking at his shirt. “I can’t really remember it now, although it was so clear a few minutes ago,” he said at last. “But I’m pretty sure I fell off a building.”

“…What kind of dreams are you having?”

“They’re all like that. I got hit by a car the other night.”

Quite frankly, Ena felt horrified. Had Akito really been trying to handle these nightmares all by himself for two weeks? What had even brought this on?

And how come I didn’t notice? His bedroom is right across from mine, but…

Tonight’s the first night I heard him cry out like that.

“…Okay. It’s really late, so can you go back to sleep, Akito?”

Something like panic flashed in his eyes. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I-I know it sounds crazy, but…if I go back to sleep, I’ll just have another nightmare. So…”

“Don’t tell me you’ve been staying up whenever you have one! You’re gonna develop insomnia and have a real problem on your hands if you do, Akito!”

“I know, Ena, thanks. I don’t like it, but I can’t help it.”

“You need to talk to Mom about this.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Look…” She sighed. “Akito, at least try and go to sleep tonight. Okay?”

Her little brother finally nodded his head, gaze flicking down to focus on the floor. “…Fine. Get back to your call.”

Ena bit her lip, finally getting to her feet and making her way to the door. As she turned to gently shut the door Akito made no move to get up, sitting stiller than she’d ever seen him on the bedroom floor.

“I’m back,” Ena called, pulling her headphones back over her head. “What’d I miss?”

“More like what did we miss!” Mizuki exclaimed. “Enanan, what happened just now?”

“…My brother had a nightmare.”

“Ohh, it was just Lil’ Bro?” Mizuki laughed, Kanade letting out a faint chuckle. “Ah, glad to see that’s all it was. What kinda nightmare was it?”

“Shut up, Amia.”

“Huh?”

“I said shut up, Amia. Can you not hear me or something?”

“I-I can hear you, yeah! It’s just, I…um, is he okay?” Mizuki offered timidly, clearly caught off-guard by her sudden anger.

Ena sighed slightly, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yes, he’s fine. Sorry for snapping at you.”

“It’s alright,” Kanade spoke up. “I’m sorry for laughing, too. I didn’t realize it was serious.”

“…Is something wrong with Shinonome-kun?”

“No, it was just a nightmare. Thanks, Yuki,” Ena said gratefully, touched that her friend was concerned. “Let’s get back on track now.”

“Alright. So Enanan, do you have any ideas for the illustrations?”

“Yes, actually! How about we do a marionette like we did a couple years back?”

Mizuki whistled, obviously impressed. “Hey, I like that idea a lot. Shows how far we’ve come since then. K, Yuki, what do you guys think?”

“I think that sounds fine,” Kanade said.

“Same,” Mafuyu agreed. “…But Enanan, can we cut the strings on the marionette?”

“Yeah, great idea! We can have her bowing to mark the end of a play…”

Akito listened to his sister’s voice as she eagerly discussed her idea with her friends. He hadn’t expected her to keep pressing him like she had—a small part of him was even glad. It had felt nice to finally talk a little about what was happening to him.

…However, just the thought of laying back down scared him. He was sure that if he fell asleep again, he’d have another nightmare, and they were beginning to drain him. Although he knew his sister would be disappointed, he rose to his feet and sat down at his desk, opening YouTube and surfing the web for whatever could keep him awake.

Although he was sure Akito would deny it fiercely if asked directly, Ken knew that something was wrong with him.

He could see it plainly no matter how hard the boy tried to hide it—he was absolutely exhausted. However, for some reason he refused to get any rest even if it was a small nap. An herself came to talk to Ken about it, telling him she was worried about the lack of sleep Akito was obviously struggling with. Toya and Kohane also asked him for advice, Toya adding that Akito had been acting jumpier than normal when they were out in public. Although he did his best to hide it, it was as if everything terrified him now.

Ken didn’t know enough to put together the pieces, but he knew enough to know that if Akito stayed up any longer he’d be at risk of hurting his health even more. He often tried to subtly persuade Akito to take a small nap whenever possible, but the boy adamantly refused to sleep for even 30 minutes. More concerning was the obvious panic in his eyes whenever Ken brought it up.

Eventually Ken gave on trying to persuade him and just watched over him, taking extra pains to chaperone him to and fro so that nothing terrible happened. Akito stubbornly held out like this for an entire month before he finally gave in.

“Whoa, Akito, watch it!”

“Sorry,” Akito muttered, straightening upright with Toya’s help. “I didn’t mean to push you.”

An looked like she wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but she just sighed and helped Kohane out of the car. Ken glanced back at Akito through the rear view mirror, worried. It looked like Akito had tripped over the car door and nearly knocked An over, just barely catching himself in time. He can’t hide it as well as normal.

That’s concerning…

“Alright, let’s get inside already,” Akito said, brushing past them and opening the door. “Ken-san, do you want my help setting the speakers up?”

“No, you should sit down with the others. We’re going to be practicing harder today since we can’t tomorrow.” Kohane was going on a trip with her father to some reptile exhibit in another part of Tokyo, so Ken had elected to call a holiday for the three of them. He had a feeling Akito would just use it to practice, unfortunately.

Akito rolled his eyes. “Ken-san, I’m not made of glass.”

“Just listen to this old man for once, alright?”

“…Alright.”

Ken made his way to the stage like he did every day, making sure all of the equipment was still in good working order. As he dragged a speaker across the ground, lifting it up with a burst of effort, he began to think over the reasons Akito could be so afraid to sleep. I thought it might’ve been because he wanted to practice—and I was pretty close, seeing as that’s how he spends a lot of his time when he’s supposed to be asleep—but he seems genuinely scared at the prospect of sleeping.

What exactly is keeping him up at night?

“Hey, are we ready yet?”

“Almost, An,” he called back, plugging in the last mic. “Alright, let’s start practice.”

“Fiiiiiiiiinaly,” An groaned, dragging herself up from her chair. “Come on, slowpokes!”

“Let’s go, Akito,” Toya said, gently tugging his boyfriend up from the chair.

Akito blinked, nodding slightly as he followed him. “Mm-hmm.”

“Hey, Akito,” Ken called, stopping the two in their tracks. “Maybe you should take it a little easier today?”

That weird fear flashed in Akito’s eyes again. Seriously, what was that all about? “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

“Alright, if you say so.”

Ken crossed his arms and watched the four practice, keeping an eye on each every one of them as he noted their individual performance. An’s doing better with those high notes she was complaining about last session, he thought to himself. Kohane’s rhythm is much better this time around, too. Toya’s voice is smoother than usual. He must’ve spent some time practicing with the tips I gave him last week.

Akito…

Ken sighed to himself as he watched him. His performance is okay. It would be so much better if he could just get some rest and work out whatever’s bothering him.

Maybe I should speak to his family…

His train of thought was interrupted by a loud feedback whine when a mic hit the floor with a thud. An let out a shriek as Akito collapsed in a heap, quickly turning off the music and crouching down beside her friend. “Dad! Akito passed out!”

“Shinonome-kun!” Kohane gasped.

“Akito! Can you hear us?” Toya called, desperately giving Akito’s shoulder a shake.

“Calm down, everyone,” Ken ordered as he sat down beside the four of them. “I understand that you’re worried about him, but freaking out won’t do us any good. Akito, are you still awake?”

He received no response, only the sound of Akito’s light breathing. He was fast asleep, and Ken couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved. At the very least, Akito was finally resting, even if he’d had to collapse first.

“What should we do?” Toya asked him anxiously.

“The three of you can get back to practicing,” Ken said, sliding his hands underneath Akito’s neck and knees. “I’ll set him somewhere he can sleep without having to worry about being woken up.”

“Are you sure?” An asked, biting her nails as Ken rose to his feet, making sure to support Akito’s body properly.

“Yeah, he’ll be fine as long as he gets some sleep. Just get back to practicing,” Ken reassured.

“If you say so,” Kohane said, gently laying a hand on An’s arm. “An-chan, he’ll be alright.”

“…Okay. Toya, you ready to go?”

Toya hesitated before nodding. “Yes. Let’s get started again.”

Ken carried Akito off the stage and set him down on the floor in a hopefully comfortable position, easing himself down beside him. I wish I had some cushions on hand but unfortunately I don’t…if I can get him to rest now, though, I can make sure his family knows he needs to sleep.

He looks absolutely exhausted, though. Why was he resisting so hard…?

Sighing, Ken turned his attention back to the other three, making sure to keep an eye on Akito as he did. He called out advice every now and then and supplied them with water in between breaks, always checking up on Akito whenever he sat back down. It was both amazing and a little concerning that no matter how loud they turned up the volume he stayed fast asleep. It was as if nothing could wake him up.

A couple of hours passed, and Ken made sure to call Akito’s mother to tell her about his collapse. She was shocked and a little upset, thanking him for taking care of her son and promising to make sure he slept properly that night even if she had to buy him some medicine. Ken assured her it was no problem and asked her to check up on him regularly, adding that he was sure Akito was forcing himself to stay awake for some reason. Mrs. Shinonome was horrified, but she swore to do so. Eventually Ken hung up and turned his attention back to the three practicing.

A few minutes passed, and Akito suddenly twitched. The movement was so slight he almost missed it, but he quickly turned around to see if he was waking up. Akito’s brow was furrowed, and he was muttering quietly in his sleep. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and Ken realized that his body had abruptly tensed. What’s going on?

…Is he having a nightmare?

He reached over and shook Akito’s shoulder, hoping to try and wake him up if that was the case. Akito only curled in on himself, shivering wildly. Ken realized at last that something was wrong. I have to wake him up.

“Akito, wake up,” he ordered, giving him another shake. “Can you hear me?”

“Dad, what’s going on?” An asked, stopping the music and hurrying over towards them. Kohane and Toya were right behind her, worry written clearly all over their faces. “Is something wrong with Akito?”

“I’m not sure, but he needs to wake up. Akito, wake up!” Ken said, raising his voice slightly.

Akito jerked awake with a gasp, sitting upright in an instant. That panic was back in his eyes, giving him a look reminiscent of a cornered animal. “Wh-What? K-Ken-san?”

“Akito, are you alright?” Toya asked him, gripping his arm tightly. He looked frightened, and for good reason. Such an expression wasn’t normally one seen on his partner’s face. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Ken half expected Akito to lie again, to try and brush the problem off. He was caught by surprise, however, when Akito suddenly burst into tears.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t want to—I’m sorry, I’m so sorry—” Akito stammered, his breaths coming quicker and quicker. Tears were streaming wildly down his face as he furiously attempted to wipe them away.

“Akito, calm down!” An begged, seizing his other hand in hers. “What’s going on with you?”

“I-I’ve been having some bad dreams,” Akito confessed, wiping his face with the handkerchief Kohane handed him. “They—they won’t stop coming night after night. It’s been a while month now, and—and—”

“What the—Akito, wait a moment. You’ve been having nightmares every night for a month now?” Toya asked, horrified. “Every single night?”

“Yeah—I’m sorry, I’m sorry—”

“No—no, stop. Stop apologizing,” An commanded, squeezing his hand. Her voice was shaking. “Akito. Look at me and answer me honestly. Have you been keeping yourself awake because of your nightmares?”

Akito nodded, his gaze falling to the floor. “Yes.”

“Shinonome-kun…” Kohane put her hands to her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. “I—I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s no one’s fault but mine,” Akito mumbled, rubbing his face with the handkerchief. “I didn’t tell anyone at first because I thought it was embarrassing but then it got worse and worse and I started staying awake on purpose because I was too scared to fall asleep because I would have another and—and I couldn’t tell anyone. I wasn’t sure how.”

“Akito…”

Toya wrapped him in a hug, clearly holding back tears of his own. “Please, just talk to us when these things happen. Having nightmares is not embarrassing, and you’ve been consistently having them for this long then I think something is wrong.”

“I know. I’m so—”

“Akito, please stop apologizing.”

Ken set his hand on Akito’s shoulder, forcing him to meet his gaze. “While staying up wasn’t the best choice to make here, the nightmares are not your fault. However, we need you to talk to us when these kinds of things happen. What do you think might’ve happened if we hadn’t been with you when you collapsed?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Which is why you need to value your health more. Look, it’s already 8, so I’m calling off practice for today,” Ken said firmly. “An, Kohane, I’m going to drop you off at home. Toya, I’ll let you ride with me to Akito’s house if you’d like.”

“Of course,” Toya said immediately, lacing his fingers through Akito’s. “I’m not leaving you, Akito.”

Akito smiled weakly. “Thanks, Toya. I love you.”

Toya brushed a slightly sweaty lock of hair out of his eyes, gently kissing him on the forehead. “I love you, too. Ken-san, should we go now? I have a feeling his mother is very worried about him.”

“Sure. Hop in the van, kids,” Ken ordered, fetching his keys from the counter. “Akito, can you walk?”

“Yeah,” Akito replied, accepting Toya’s hand and standing upright with his help. “Thank you, Ken-san.”

Taking great care to not hurt him or unbalance him, Ken reached over and ruffled Akito’s hair. “Anytime, kid. Now get in the car before you pass out again.”

Akito chuckled slightly, leaning on Toya as the two walked to the car together. Ken locked the cafe up again and slid into the driver’s seat, glancing at the four of them in the rear view mirror. “Everyone buckled in?”

“We are, Dad!” An replied, giving him a thumbs-up. “Are we going home first?”

“Yeah. I’ll drop you off with Mom before bringing Kohane home. That clear?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Kohane turned around to face Akito and Toya, who were sitting in the back of the car. “Um, Shinonome-kun…do you feel like you can talk about what happened now?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” An added. “I understand if you still feel overwhelmed. But we want you to lean on us a little bit, okay?”

“…I know.”

“Do you think you can talk, love?” Toya asked gently, taking his hand again.

“Yeah.”

Akito took a deep breath, looking down at the floor of the car. “Like I said…I’ve been having nightmares for the past month. I didn’t remember them at first, but they got worse as a few days went by.”

The four listened in stunned silence as Akito did his best to describe the worst of his dreams. An let out a small squeak of horror once he was done, covering her mouth. “You really dreamed all of that?” she gasped, her tone disbelieving. “That’s horrible, Akito!”

“Shinonome-kun, I can’t even…” Kohane winced. “I can’t imagine what it must have felt like.”

“…What do you even think caused this?” Toya asked, his tone sympathetic.

“I have a few guesses, but I don’t know for sure. We just learned about Nagi-san—” An pressed her lips together as if to hold herself back from speaking— “—so I wouldn’t be surprised if a part of me is…well, terrified of the same thing happening to one of us.”

“…I can’t say I haven’t ever felt the same.”

An’s smile was sad and humorless. “The night we found out, I dreamed I danced with a group of skeletons, and I had to call Kohane to make sure nothing terrible had happened to the three of you. I didn’t have any other dreams beyond that, though. Is it really just that, then?”

Ken tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He’d wondered for years if hiding the secret of Nagi’s death had really been the best choice, dying wish or no. While he had understood her reasons back then, looking at the long term effects it had left on everyone…it felt like the wrong decision.

…Especially that guy, who had to go on pretending that she was still alive and well.

“An, here’s our house,” Ken called, parking beside the house. “Tell Mom I’ll be back soon, alright?”

“Okay.”

An unbuckled herself, but before she left the car she made her way to the back to give Akito a tight hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Akito. Try to actually get some rest, okay?”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you later, Kohane!” An added, leaning in to let her girlfriend kiss her on the cheek. “See you, Toya!”

“See you, Shiraishi,” Toya called as she hopped out of the car.

There was a comfortable silence as Ken drove, eventually dropping Kohane off as well. Before she left Kohane hugged Akito, promising to help him with whatever he needed going before heading inside.

Finally they arrived at Akito’s house, and he unbuckled his seatbelt with a sense of foreboding. Sooner or later he would have to go to sleep—and that meant confronting more of the nightmares.

“Akito, are you ready to head inside?”

Toya’s voice brought him to his senses, grounding him more effectively than any exercise could. His partner took his hand and squeezed it gently, smiling comfortingly at him. “I promise, we’ll work it out somehow. So please, don’t be frightened.”

“…Thanks.”

“Let’s get you inside, Akito,” Ken said, locking the car doors. “Do you have your keys?”

”Yeah, I’ve got them here.”

There ended up being no need for Akito’s keys, as the moment they approached the door it flew open. Akito was promptly crushed by his mother, her hands wrapping tightly around him. “Oh, Akito…! I had no idea you were doing so badly…hurry, come inside. You must be Mr. Shiraishi,” she added upon seeing Ken and Toya. “And Toya-kun? Go ahead and come in.”

“Thank you,” Ken said, nodding respectfully towards her. “I appreciate it, but I just came to drop Akito and Toya off, if him staying here is okay with you.”

“Oh, of course that’s fine. Thank you for always being there for Akito, Mr. Shiraishi.”

“No problem.”

Ken patted Akito on the shoulder, smiling warmly at him. “You’ve got this, kid.”

“Thank you for everything, Ken-san.”

“No worries, Akito. Just make sure you don’t let my hard work go to waste,” Ken joked, affectionately ruffling his hair once more. He was tempted to make him stop, but he just gave in and accepted his fate. Finally Ken left for his car again, and the boys followed Mrs. Shinonome into the house.

Mrs. Shinonome sat Akito down on the couch, planting a kiss on the top of his head. “Sit here for a moment, Akito. I picked some things up from the pharmacy that should help you get some more sleep tonight, okay?”

“Thanks, Mom. Sorry for worrying you.”

“It’s okay. Just…make sure you don’t do anything like this again,” she warned him. “You were lucky that Mr. Shiraishi and your groupmates were here today. You could’ve passed out somewhere more dangerous. Please, don’t ever do something so dangerous again.”

“I understand.”

Mrs. Shinonome smiled slightly sadly before rising back to her feet and disappearing in the direction of the kitchen. She was barely gone for a minute when footsteps abruptly stomped down the stairs, and Ena marched into the living room with a scowl on her face. “Akito,” she snapped by way of greeting.

Akito winced. “Hey.”

“You collapsed? You stayed up that long, Akito? Are you kidding me?!”

“Ena, please. I can’t do this right now.”

Ena looked as though she would’ve loved to continue chewing him out, but she sighed. “You owe me a cheesecake,” she growled before whirling around and storming back upstairs.

“Oh, was that Ena?” Mrs. Shinonome asked as she came back into the room with a small bottle in hand. “She must be really upset with you.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Can you take this, Akito?” she asked, pressing a small cup into his hands. “After Mr. Shiraishi explained the situation to me, he recommended some sleep medicines that might calm you before sleeping so you don’t have such intense nightmares. If you drink this syrup, you should feel a little better tonight.”

“…Sure.”

Akito downed the cup’s contents in a matter of seconds, and she took it back with a grateful smile. “Alright, that’s all I needed from you tonight. Toya, would you mind walking him upstairs? I’ll help you set up the spare mattress in his room so you can sleep.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Shinonome.”

“I wish you would call me ‘Mom’ already,” she sighed wistfully. “You’re practically my son by now, Toya-kun.”

A light pink blush dusted Toya’s cheeks. “My apologies…”

“Don’t embarrass him, Mom.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just teasing,” Mrs. Shinonome said with a rueful laugh. “Come on, let’s get the room set up now.”

The three headed up the stairs, both Toya and Mrs. Shinonome supporting Akito as they did. Toya opened the room to his bedroom and Akito flopped face-first onto the bed with a sigh. “I’m tired.”

“You should get changed and then go to sleep,” his mother advised. “Toya-kun, let’s get the mattress out now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Together they worked together to slide the spare mattress out from underneath Akito’s bed, Akito himself stumbling off to the bathroom to get changed. Mrs. Shinonome pulled a blanket down from the closet, handing it to Toya along with a pillow as Akito emerged back into the bedroom, wearing pajamas and an exhausted expression.

“Good night, you two,” Mrs. Shinonome said at last. “Toya-kun, please come get me if you or Akito need anything.”

“I will, I promise.”

She smiled before leaving the room and gently shutting the door behind her. Akito fell back onto the bed almost immediately, dragging the covers over his head. “Can you get the lights?”

“Hmm? Oh, of course.”

Toya flicked off the switch before hurrying off to get changed, finding a spare pair of his own pajamas in Akito’s drawers. Once he’d changed for the night he sat down on the mattress, glancing back at Akito. “…Are you going to be alright?”

There was silence for a moment, then his partner sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Please know that I’ll be here if you need anything, you know,” Toya reminded him. “Don’t hesitate to wake me up if you have a nightmare, Akito.”

“I’ll try.”

It may have been difficult, but Akito was determined to try and fix what he could with his friends’ help.

Although to tackle the reason why this may be happening, I may have to start thinking about that time again…

However, that was a problem for another day, and sooner or later, Akito fell asleep.

His dreams that night were oddly warm and pleasant, and he felt nothing but safe in his room with Toya asleep nearby.