Shido gripped the edge of the window until his knuckles turned white. He hated feeling scared. It made him feel weak, and Shido Kirishima was never weak. He looked up at the pale, cold moon and cursed the dream one last time.
"If I ever see her for real," he muttered, his blue eyes turning sharp and dangerous, "I'll kill her myself just for ruining my sleep."
The cold night breeze blew through his messy blue hair, chilling the sweat on his neck. His eyes were still wide and tired, dark circles starting to show beneath them. He rubbed his face hard with his palms, trying to scrub away the image of those hollow, black holes in the woman's face.
He looked back into the dark corners of his room. Every shadow looked like a reaching hand. Every coat hanging on the wall looked like a person standing still.
"That's it," he whispered to the empty air, his voice shaking just a little. "No more horror movies at night. Never again. Not even for a dare."
He hesitated, then slowly dropped to his knees. He took a deep breath and peeped under his bed, half-expecting a pair of black eyes to stare back at him.
Empty. Only dust.
He let out a long breath and reached for a large, soft panda plushie sitting on his chair. The plushie wore a small silk ribbon around its neck, and on it, the name Tamiko was written in neat letters. It was a gift he treated with more care than anything else he owned.
He picked it up and hugged it tightly against his chest, burying his face in the soft fur.
"Sorry, Tamiko," he mumbled to the toy, his voice muffled. "But right now, even stuffed toys are scaring the life out of me."
Suddenly—VRRRRRR!
A sharp, mechanical sound ripped through the silence.
"AHH!" Shido screamed, jumping back and nearly dropping the panda. His heart did a frantic somersault in his chest. He stood frozen for a second, his ears ringing, until his brain finally recognised the sound.
It was an engine. A car engine.
He hurried back to the window and leaned out, looking down at the road. Below, he saw the family car. The headlights broke through the dark like two yellow blades, and shone on the wet foothpath.
"Dad?" he whispered.
He realized it must be Mr. Kamitani. The car started to roll forward, its tires crunching on small stones .
"Hey! Dad!" Shido shouted from the window, waving one arm wildly while holding the panda in the other. "Where are you going so late? Did something happen?"
The car didn't slow down. It didn't honk. It just kept moving, turning out of the driveway and disappearing into the darkness of the street.
Shido stood there, his arm still raised. The red back lights faded into the mist until they were gone.
"Wow. Rude," Shido nagged, crossing his arms and sighing. "Why didn't he hear me? I was practically screaming."
He turned back toward his room and narrowed his eyes at the glowing clock on his bedside table. The red numbers blinked back at him: 3:00 AM.
"Three in the morning?" He scratched his head, his annoyance turning into confusion.
"What kind of emergency happens at three in the morning? Is the office on fire or something?"
He stood in the middle of the room for a moment, the silence feeling heavy again. Then, a grin spread across his face as he tried to laugh the weird feeling away.
"Actually," he chuckled to himself, tossing the panda back onto his bed. "I bet I know what it is. Old man probably snuck out to grab a drink with some pretty ladies. Classic. Wait until I tell Mom tomorrow. He is so dead."
He laughed again, but the sound was thin. He stayed by the window, watching the empty spot where the car had been, wondering why the house suddenly felt so much colder.
Shido let out a long sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't go back to sleep now—not with that silver-haired woman waiting in his dreams. He stepped out of his room, the wooden floorboards feeling cold under his bare feet.
He started walking down the stairs, his shoulders slumped. He opened his mouth wide and let out a giant, noisy yawn, covering it with the back of his hand.
Halfway down the staircase, Shido stopped.
A figure was standing at the bottom, right in front of the main door. Shido blinked. He squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed them hard, shaking his head. When he opened them again, the figure was still there.
It was Kento.
He was standing perfectly still in the dark hallway, his arms hanging at his sides. He didn't have his usual kind look; his face was blank, like a mask made of stone. He was just staring up at Shido with no expression at all.
Shido rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed huff. "Oh, great. The ghost of the grumpy brother returns," he muttered.
He stayed on the stairs, looking down at Kento. "What are you doing down here? I thought you wanted to be alone. I thought I was 'the reason you're angry,' remember? Why aren't you in bed?"
Kento didn't move. He didn't blink. He just kept staring, his green eyes looking dark in the shadows.
Shido waited for a reply, but the silence just grew longer. "Fine. Whatever. Be like that,"
Shido sighed, waving a hand rudely. "You're not talking to me, right? Good. Perfect."
Kento opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, but Shido held up a finger to stop him.
"Don't. Save your breath," Shido snapped. "I don't want to talk to you either. My ears need a break from your complaining anyway."
Shido leaned against the handrail, trying to act like he didn't care that his brother looked like a stranger. "Anyway, did you see Dad leave? And is Mom still home, or did she go with him?"
Kento finally spoke. His voice was flat, with no emotion at all. "Why don't you find out yourself? Besides... you shouldn't bother me, right?"
Shido's face turned red with annoyance. He scratched his messy hair hard, feeling his temper rise. "Wow. You're really going to use that against me? You're the one who started the 'leave me alone' drama!"
He opened his mouth to say something else—something mean—but Kento didn't wait.
Without another word, Kento turned around and started walking up the stairs. He walked right past Shido, his shoulder almost brushing Shido's, but he didn't look at him. He didn't even acknowledge he was there.
Shido stood on the stairs, watching Kento disappear into the darkness of the upper floor.
"Yeah, go ahead! Walk away!" Shido shouted after him, though his voice was a bit lower so he wouldn't wake the whole house. "You're such a pain, you know that? Stubborn, grumpy little brat!"
Kento didn't answer. He didn't even slow down.
Shido turned back toward the front door, muttering curses under his breath. The house felt even colder now, and the silence Kento left behind felt even heavier than the nightmare.
"Something is definitely wrong," he whispered.
He didn't like the way the air felt—it was too still, too cold. He decided to check on his mother. He needed to see a normal face, someone who would tell him he was just being a paranoid idiot.
He walked down the hallway toward his parents' bedroom. The floorboards didn't creak; they seemed to muffle his footsteps, making the house feel even more like a tomb. He reached the door and put his hand over the handle.
'She's probably just sleeping,' he thought. 'I'll open the door, see her snoring, and then I'll go eat some cereal and feel stupid.'
He turned the handle.
CLICK.
The door swung open slowly. The room was bathed in a pale, grey light from the moon.
"Mom?" Shido called out softly. "You awake? Dad just took the car and—"
He stopped.
The bed was perfectly made. The sheets were pulled tight, without a single wrinkle. No one was under the covers. The pillows were fluffed and cold.
Shido walked further into the room, his heart starting to thud against his ribs again. He looked at the nightstand. Her phone wasn't there. Her glasses weren't there. He turned toward the bathroom and pushed the door open.
EMPTY.
The air in the bathroom smelled faintly of her lavender soap, but the tiles were dry. The towels were hanging neatly. It looked like no one had been in here for hours.
"Where is everyone?" Shido muttered. He felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple.
He walked back into the bedroom and looked around. That was when he noticed something. The window was open just an inch. The heavy velvet curtains were shivering in the breeze, making a soft sound against the wall.
He walked to the window and looked down at the backyard. It was just dark trees and shadows shifting in the wind.
'Did they leave together?' he wondered. 'But I only saw one person in the car. And the car door only slammed once.'
He stepped back, his head beginning to ache. First the nightmare, then Kento acting like a hollow shell of a person, and now his parents were just... gone. No note. No sound. Just an empty, perfect bed at three in the morning.
"This isn't funny anymore," Shido said.
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