It was the day the test results were out, and Yuki managed to be top of his class.

Expecting good grades, his mother said she'd make her special stew.

Like always, the way home passed by the station's park.

"And then, how are we celebrating?"

His friend, that lives the same way, is also with him.

"Mom said she's making a special stew."

The two chattered casually.

"Damn, she's so confident in your good grade she said that before even knowing it."

Both him and his friend were the same height, and were the shortest of the class

Yuki wondered when they'd grow taller, it'd be high school for them next year.

"Well, I study, different from you."

"Bro I got a 70! It's good enough and some."

That moment, Yuki felt goosebumps.

He rapidly turns to the forest, but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary there.

"Something wrong?"

His friend stops, worried.

"Nothing, it just seemed like… Must be my imagination."

Lately this had been happening sometimes, but it wasn't anything to worry about.

The two start walking again.

"That reminds me, didn't they find a dead body around here these days? We should be careful."

"...Are you seriously talking about that now?"

His friend starts laughing.

"Sorry man, sorry. But, and then, that new movie that's gonna come out, it's the same as the space warriors show and..."

"That one only comes out next month."

"Really?!"

"You saw the wrong month on the poster."

He looked shocked by that.

"Hey, why don't we go to the arcade?"

"You tell me about assassins roaming around and now you want to stay out late?"

"We need to commemorate the good grades! My mom said you should always commemorate that sort of thing to incentivize getting even more good grades..."

"And I will, with stew."

"Both you and I know that's not enough! And we can play the new game that came out the day before yesterday!"

Yuki starts laughing.

"...You never had the intention of not going, did you dude?"

"You know I'll never refuse a chance to destroy you in games."

They cross the crosswalk, and walk by the city until they reach the nearest arcade.

It was in the middle of many stores and not too far from either of their homes, in a busy street.

The two played, and Yuki won all the matches, making his friend frustrated.

It was a fighting game unlike anything they'd seen before, and he ended up getting the hang of it faster, making the winner of the day obvious.

"Man, you really have no mercy..."

It was close to sunset.

"See you tomorrow Yuki, next time I'll win!"

"Later, Manabu."

On the way home, the sky was a beautiful scarlet hue.

It was a beautiful sunset.

He gets home, while appreciating the scenery.

Their apartment was a big one, and in a just finished building.

They were one of the first residents of the city's new residential area, which meant, no noisy neighbors.

Opening the door, going up the stairs…

There was someone in the middle of the corredor.

"A new resident?", he thought.

As he came closer, they looked like his dad.

He was about to speak to him, when the person turned around.

Exposed flesh and no eyes.

That person didn't have a face.

They were bleeding.

Yuki immediately ran to his apartment, which was by the end of the corridor.

He tries to avoid the person, but ends up bumping into them.

...And even so, passing right through.

He enters, locks the door, and takes a deep breath.

As he does that, an unknown metallic smell.

He looks up.

His dad's face.

"Oh, hello."

On the ground further inside, dismembered bodies, he can count 6 arms.

Two of them were smaller.

The person in the middle of that was using his dad's face like a mask.

Their clothes were stained with blood.

"You… Are called Yuki. From now on, you'll be my little brother!"

At that moment, while passing out, he could hear something.

"Ah, he passed out..."

The voice sounded worried.

Yuki wakes up with the daylight coming through the curtain's blind spots.

His back was covered in cold sweat.

"I had a nightmare..."

He goes outside the bedroom and into the corridor, and slowly makes his way into the living room...

It was normal, no bloodstain.

No dismembered body in sight.

Just the usual smell of the cleaning product used at home.

The sound of food being made coming from the kitchen.

He breathes a sigh of relief, and proceeds to go eat breakfast.

"Good morning..."

In the middle of a yawn, he continues his common daily routine.

"Morning little brother, do you like pancakes?"

...Who was that person?

"Your parents went to live in another country. I am your new older brother."

Ah, so it really was a nightmare.

That man was just my new big brother.

Everyone is fine.

"I see. Pancakes are ok."

They eat in silence.

"If you hear any weird noise, it's because I like horror movies. Even if you can't notice me, if anyone asks, I am always home."

"I see. Horror movies are cool."

Silence.

"Ah, I made your lunch! There's omelet and fried veggies."

"Thanks, brother."

A month later, from the horror movie, was a voice really similar to that landlady from the neighboring building.

But that's just a coincidence.

Sometimes it was the voices of men, others from women.

There were some younger and some older.

Some time went by like that.

Yuki and that man, for him, were a true family.

One day, his friend came go visit unannounced.

He got there at the wrong time.

He saw something he shouldn't.

But his older brother didn't seem bothered by it.

He went with him, at night, and saw his friend's body being buried, until he couldn't anymore.

"You'll get used to it."

Brother. Like always, smiling.

Yuki's gaze was distant.

He wandered around until he got into the station.

There wasn't anyone anymore around the area.

He made a wish, actually two wishes in the form of one, without noticing.

And…

When he opened his eyes, he was in the school's yard, close to the exit.

Sometimes Yuki had this nightmare, even awake.

It even felt like memories, it was so realistic.

But every time he thinks about that, he'd look to the side, and his friend would be there.

This time…

There were only two people he didn't know.

"Are ya ok boy?"

It was someone he never saw before, much taller than him, who had a worried face. He held the youth's arm with certain strength.

And beside him was a blonde girl, with blue eyes, who was like a foreigner.

She was smiling while staring, but her eyes looked sad.

That when the person holding him looked around, and let go of his arm.

"Sheila, where's Makoto?!"

Sheila, surprised, looks around, and the two become desperate.

Who is Makoto?

Yuki grows increasingly uncomfortable, especially since there's no one other than them, even though it's the time people go back home from school.

"...Tch."

The person picks him up, and puts him on his back.

What is happening.

"Sheila, we're goin' back there! That fella is dangerous!"

He starts running really fast, and she follows him.

That girl was much more athletic than Yuki, which made him even more shocked.

"Kyou, actually I think I understand what is happening… more or less, and-"

"Sheila, leave this for later! Focus on runnin', Makoto's in danger! Can ya tell which's the way there?!"

"Just barely!"

How can those two chat as they run like this?

This Kyou-senpai is evn carrying him on his back.

In a few seconds they reached the street, and for some reason there's no cars passing.

"Perfect! Kyou, follow me!"

The girl takes the lead.

The three of them run to the apartment, that is a few blocks away.

"Hey ya! Don'tcha dare get a headache now, got it?!"

Yuki couldn't understand why that senpai said that, but he'd try.