Daigo's bedroom looked like a hurricane had stormed through it: clothes piled about; knicknacks and random items gathering dust in corners; an overturned bookshelf, books and manga spilling out over the carpeted floor. But it felt like too much to clean. Every day after waking up at around noon (that is, when he didn't have classes to attend), Daigo would just wallow in his misery - wandering from room to room, turning the TV on and off, letting the cats climb over him, barely remembering to eat or brush his teeth. He kept expecting to see his bright-eyed brother out of the corner of his eye, or to hear his voice, scolding him for not taking care of himself.

It just didn't stop: every time Daigo closed his eyes, all he could see were the final blips of the heart monitor before the flatline, and all he could hear was the white noise of the panicked nurses trying to bring sweet little Ryota back from the beyond. But it was too late: he was gone for good. Tsakana had arrived ten minutes later, wailing with manic regret when she realized that she had missed her son's last moments.

At least he died in his sleep, Daigo kept trying to think to himself.

What was he doing again? Oh, right - he was getting dressed. How long had he been sitting on the edge of his bed and staring at his feet?

Daigo sighed as he stood up and turned the light on. He tip-toed through the mess to his unorganized closet, pulling out a sweater and a pair of skinny jeans. As he sat down and yanked on a pair of fresh socks, Mimi rubbed herself against his back and purred, as though to remind him not to push his friends away this time.

"Hey, man - . . ."

In a panic, Daigo whipped his head around to find Ken peeking into his room. He gulped as a look of horror came over Ken's face.

"Ken, listen - "

"At some point, you're gonna lemme help you clean this up."

It wasn't an offer: it was a vow. In a different context, it probably would've been thought of as a threat due to their tone.

Daigo pulled himself to his feet and nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Why don't you come on out?" Ken suggested with a sweet smile. "I don't want you holed up in here till lunch is ready."

Daigo felt a surge of warmth in his body - a warmth he hadn't felt in weeks - as his and Ken's eyes met, and he followed them into the hallway, shutting the light after himself. Mimi pranced after her master, black tail held high in the air. From the kitchen, Daigo could sense the delightful smells of broiling chicken, baking bread, and cooking vegetables.

"C'mon, lemme help!" Valt whined from in front of the stove.

"As if!" Asa shot back, waving her spatula in his face. "Your cooking's ass and you know it. Set the table instead if you wanna be of some use."

Valt made a stink face and held up two middle fingers. Nonetheless, he did as he was told and began his search for the plates and utensils. As he had gotten to know Asa, Valt couldn't help but be reminded of a fiesty version of Daigo or even Shu.

"Should I make a run to the nearest pastry shop after lunch?" Litsuko wondered aloud from the kitchen table. Bibi was sitting comfortably in her lap. "I feel like we'll need some donuts."

"Pasta and bread rolls are enough carbs for now," Asa called back. "Maybe we'll go to the convenience store to get some fresh fruit instead."

"Sounds good - thanks, bunbun!" Litsuko thanked her, raising a thumbs up into the air despite Asa being in a completely different room.

"Carbs are great though," Jin complained from the living room, where he was vacuuming up all the dust bunnies.

Daigo was taken aback by everything happening before his eyes. Sure, he was always willing to help others in their darkest hours, but he still wasn't used to the idea of other people doing the same for him. Up until the age of eleven, he hadn't really understood the concept of friendship, and even after eight years, it still surprised him that people he had known for months and years would be so happy to clean his apartment and even prepare a whole meal just to cheer him up.

Daigo bit his own tongue to hold in a sob. What had he done to deserve to have such great people in his life?

"Look, it's the man of the hour!" Litsuko greeted her friend gallantly. "Have a seat." She craned her neck down the hall as Bibi hopped out of her lap. "When'll lunch be ready!?"

"Twenty minutes!" Asa called back.

Daigo watched as Valt emerged from the kitchen, carrying a stack of plates along with a bunch of forks and knives. He began to set the table as Jin finished vacuuming. Ken went to fetch everyone a glass of water. Litsuko began to search the apartment for more chairs to place around the wooden table - they needed three more.

Uneasily, Daigo sat down as everyone else sat down around him. He felt a pang of sadness as Valt sat in the chair that had once been Ryota's, but he quickly pushed his feelings under the rug.

At last, Asa began to bring out the dishes: chicken florentine pasta and frozen garlic rolls that had been baked back to freshness in the oven, with a side of rice pilaf.

"Bon appetit," Asa declared proudly, still wearing the forest green apron that she had brought from home. The color reminded Daigo of Ken's eyes.

"Wow, thanks, Asa!" Valt cried out, drooling at the sight of the meal before him.

Asa sat down in her chair as everyone else thanked her for her hard work, and Litsuko leaned over to kiss her cheek. Unable to resist the aroma, Daigo helped himself along with the others. He had eaten Asa's cooking before, and dare he say, it was better than Shu's. If Asa didn't focus on beyblade, she definitely would've been a professional chef already.

"Damn, this is good," Jin piped up.

"Yum!" Ken exclaimed happily, the cutest grin on their face as they stuffed their cheeks like a hungry dog.

"Whaddya think, captain?" Asa turned her attention to Daigo, who was eating quietly.

Daigo swallowed a bite of creamy herbal penne before looking up at his friend. The corner of his mouth twitched. He was kind of glad that he had decided to get out of bed.

"Amazing, as always," he complimented her. "Thanks."

Asa smiled softly at him.

"Can't believe you guys decided to do this for me," Daigo told his friends.

"C'mon, you'd do the same for us if we were grieving!" Valt reminded him.

"Yeah, it's the least we could do!" Litsuko added. Daigo caught her sneaking some chicken to the cats, but he didn't dare call her out.

Once lunch was finished, everyone cleared away their dishes. Since Ken knew Daigo's kitchen almost as well as he did, they insisted on putting away the leftovers, though Daigo tried to argue that he could do it himself. He wasn't used to being doted on like this, but that was what Ken did whenever he had a depressive episode: they took care of him. Daigo wasn't sure how he felt about being the one taken care of, but he was always glad to have Ken's attention.

"I'll go to the convenience store to get some fruit." Litsuko announced. "How 'bout we watch a movie when I get back?"

"Anyone up for a horror movie?" Jin suggested with a sleazy grin.

Valt, Ken, and Litsuko immediately all winced as though they were in pain, but Daigo took it into thought.

"I've never seen Hereditary before," he admitted.

"Oh - the American film?" Asa remembered with a snap of her fingers. "Came out in 2018?"

"Yeah, that one," Daigo answered with a nod.

"I dunno, man," Valt mumbled with fright.

Daigo sighed with defeat, content with going back to his room. He turned on his heel to go.

"Well, that settles that - "

"I don't think so!"

Valt grabbed Daigo by the sleeve and started dragging him to the living room couch.

"I'll get the popcorn!" Jin offered.

Daigo let Valt push him onto the couch, and Ken sat beside him. Valt himself sat on the floor cross-legged, and Asa sat nearby on a pillow. When Litsuko came back with fruit and the popcorn was finished popping, Litsuko and Jin made themselves comfortable as well.

Daigo reached for the remote and switched to Netflix, pressing play on Hereditary, starring Toni Collette.

"I've heard this movie's just as scary as The Exorcist," Asa pointed out eagerly.

"In that case, better hold onto me," Litsuko shot back, hugging her arm. Asa chuckled in response.

"My heebies are already jeebied," Valt grumbled.

"Re-lax, we're not watching it at night at least," Ken argued, already eating the popcorn, though Daigo could tell that their nerves were already shot.

~

Valt was biting his nails as the movie traversed through its final scene. His eyes were starting to ache from bugging at the screen so much. He was hugging a pillow tightly to his chest.

"We have looked through the Northwest and called you in," the woman playing the cultist went on onscreen. "We've corrected your first female body, and give you now this healthy male host. We reject the trinity, and pray devoutly to you, great Paimon. Give us your knowledge of all secret things. Bring us honor, wealth, and good familiars. Bind all men to our will, as we have bound ourselves for now and ever to yours."

"Hail Paimon!" "Hail Paimon!" "Hail Paimon!"

The screen faded to black as the actor playing Peter Graham stared blankly at his surroundings, and the credits started to roll. At last, Valt felt like he could breathe again.

"That was great," Asa exclaimed in awe through the last bite of popcorn.

"I'm gonna have nightmares for a week," Litsuko squeaked out.

"C'mon, Paimon's pretty cool," Jin coaxed her. "I've encountered him before, he's chill."

"Uhhh, guys?"

Valt turned his head to find Daigo fast asleep - on Ken's lap.