"You comfortable?" Ken asked Daigo as they settled into bed that night.

"Don't worry, I am," Daigo reassured him. "You're here with me, after all."

Ken giggled and kissed Daigo's nose. Daigo smiled back as he felt his cheeks flush pink.

"'Night, love," he said.

"G'night, honey," Ken replied.

Ken switched off the lamp and wrapped an arm around Daigo's waist under the blanket as they both closed their eyes. In minutes, Daigo was asleep. He had been getting better sleep since staying with the Midori family. . . .

~

"Mmgh . . ." Daigo rose from his sleep with a drowsy grunt. Had he woken up in the middle of the night again?

"Ken?" he called out.

No answer. Ken had disappeared from the bed beside him. Where did they go?

I'm dreaming, aren't I? Daigo thought. He surprised himself, coming to that conclusion: he had never had a lucid dream before. Maybe he needed to move around in order to wake himself up.

With some effort, Daigo stumbled out of bed and rested his feet on the floor. It was so dark he could barely see the door. But eventually, his eyes adjusted to the blackness and he went to open the bedroom door, peeking down the hallway. He walked slowly, as though wading through a shallow pool. A strange indigo light emanated from the living room, along with an animalistic noise - like a whimpering puppy?

Daigo slowly crept down the hallway, the colored glow growing brighter and brighter. The puppy behind the whimpering seemed to sound more excited as Daigo advanced closer. He felt his heart begin to race, but he wasn't sure whether it was in a good or a bad way. Did he want to wake up or not?

"Who are you?"

At last, Daigo rounded the corner, the indigo light brighter than ever. When he recognized the smiling figure in the corner, he fell to his hands and knees in an instant.

~

Daigo's ringtone forced his eyes open, coercing him awake. His vision was blurred, but he quickly went into focus.

"You okay?"

"Huh?" Daigo looked up to find Ken looking concerned. It was only then that he noticed the tear tracks on his face.

"I-I'm fine," Daigo stammered, wiping his tears away, struggling to wipe the sleep from his eyes in the process. Irritated, he rolled over onto his side and fumbled around on the bedside table for his cell phone. The clock said 5:47. Who the fuck was calling him so early in the morning? In reality, Daigo had a hunch, but he was too tired to think on it.

"Hullo?" Daigo mumbled as he placed his phone against his ear.

"Are you okay!?"

Valt's panicked voice blasted into Daigo's ear, forcing him away from the phone - just as he had predicted. At first, Daigo was so annoyed by the blast that he didn't notice Valt speaking English.

"What the hell?" Daigo yawned, rubbing his eyes for a second time. He had an urge to put Valt on speaker, but he didn't want to wake up the rest of the Midoris.

"Litsuko texted me and told me about what happened today," Valt explained, choked up and still in English. "I was worried sick!"

Daigo was too tired to feel bad. Of course, there was that panging voice in the back of his mind, scolding him for worrying the people he loved. Knowing Valt, he wasn't surprised to be woken up in the middle of the night like this.

"He's alright," Ken assured Valt from over Daigo's shoulder. "He's not hurt. He's staying with me for a while."

"Hold on - Ken?" Valt exclaimed. "Did you guys sleep in the same bed?"

"Yes." Daigo didn't have the energy to be bashful, but he could tell Ken did. For some reason, he had forgotten to tell Valt the news about his and Ken's new relationship status.

Suddenly, there was a rustling on the other end, and Daigo heard the commotion of Valt's phone being snatched away.

"Did you guys fuck!?"

"Silas! What the shit!?"

Daigo felt the heat in his face rising. Ken let their face fall against the back of his shoulder, groaning with embarrassment. So that was why Valt was speaking English: he was with friends.

Daigo heard Valt wrestle his phone back. Silas's girlfriend Shasa scolded him in the background.

"I'm glad you're okay," Valt sniffled. "Lemme know if you need anything, alright? And I mean anything."

"I know," Daigo replied. "Thanks a lot, man. Now could you lemme get some sleep?"

"Sure - sorry about that," Valt apologized hastily. "Buy, guys."

"Bye," Ken responded.

Daigo hung up and sighed deeply, plopping back onto the pillow. Ken took hold of his shoulder from behind.

"Can't believe we forgot to tell 'im about us," they complained.

"He'll forgive us once we do," Daigo promised. "Let's go back to bed."

"Daigo, wait. Why were you crying?" Ken asked.

Daigo froze. Oh. Right. The memories of his dream began to trickle back as a lump gathered in the back of his throat.

"I had this really weird lucid dream," he answered as he turned over to face Ken. He opened his mouth again, but it was a moment before he was able to speak. "Ryota was there. He . . . he told me to go home." His voice broke.

Ken's eyes widened in the darkness and immediately began to tear up. Daigo reached out to stroke their hair.

"Maybe it was a sign," they said softly.

"No, Ken," Daigo sighed. "Ryota didn't believe in any god." He had believed in ghosts, though.

"I don't necessarily mean a Christian one," Ken argued. "Maybe we should ask Jin? He's a death witch, after all."

"Are you sure?" Daigo grumbled. Part of him wanted to put this dream behind him. "You know I don't believe in that stuff."

"It's worth a shot," Ken insisted. "You deserve closure. We both do."

Not after what I almost did, Daigo scolded himself. But maybe Ken was right. Besides, when Ryota had died, he hadn't spoken any final words, not even a goodbye. Even if this impromptu journey wasn't successful, maybe it was the farewell Daigo needed?

It took a while for Ken and Daigo to fall back asleep, and they ended up sleeping in. Since Daigo's term at his community college had ended, they were free to go straight to Jin's apartment after a late breakfast: Ken wanted answers as soon as possible. As for Daigo, he wasn't really sure about this whole supernatural thing, but he was willing to go along with it if it satisfied his lover. In reality, though, he was a little scared. What if Jin actually had a breakthrough, and it wasn't a good one? He had seen enough spiritual possession movies to be suspicious.

Tok, tok, tok. Ken knocked on Jin's apartment door. He lived with his grandfather, and sure enough, the elderly Kazushi Aizawa swung the door open. He looked a lot like his grandson: perpetually exhausted.

"Oh - hey, kids." he greeted Daigo and Ken. "Here to see Jin?"

"Yes, sir." Ken answered with a quick bow. "Can we come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Kazushi looked over his shoulder. "Hey, Jin? Your friends are here!"

Daigo heard a door opening faintly, and soon enough, Jin appeared. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing them.

"What's up?" he asked curiously. "You didn't tell me you were comin'."

"We need spiritual advice," Ken said urgently. "Daigo had a really weird dream: I think Ryota's tryna contact us."

Daigo struggled not to roll his eyes, but Jin's face lit up, a rare sight. Daigo had to admit that he was curious. Despite him having dated Jin in high school for a few months, he had never been to his apartment; therefore, he had never seen his altar.

"C'mon back," Jin said, opening the door for them. "I'll get to the bottom of this."

Doubt that, Daigo thought bitterly.

Ken and Daigo followed Jin back to his room, and Jin flipped the light on before closing the door behind the three of them. Under the window, a desk that was meant for doing homework had been repurposed into an altar, covered with an intricately decorated black cloth. At the center up against the wall was a 3D printed figurine of a large serpent. Incense holders, candles, and crystals decorated the altar, and in the middle sat a small iron cauldron, presumably for burning things safely.

"Make yourselves comfortable." Jin offered as he approached his desk. He took out a lighter and lit a stick of incense, and the smell of cedar filled the room as he slowly waved it around. In his free hand, he picked up two crystals from the altar, one pale turquoise and one black - amazonite and jet, he explained.

"O great Velnias, phantom of the dead, I call upon you for aid." Jin boomed.

Daigo felt a chill run up his spine.