Kai got so little sleep the night before that he was zoning out with each bite of breakfast. At one point, he was staring at a certain place on the table for so long that his father waved a hand in front of his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently. "You don't look very great." He watched as his son sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm just tired," Kai mumbled. "I couldn't fall asleep last night until really late."

Because Shintaro said something that kept waking me up, Kai thought to himself. I kept dreaming that things had gotten so terrible for him — that he bottled it up for so long — that he had been found dead in the backyard. He shivered at the memory of the dream replaying over and over. Every time Shintaro was found, Kai would wake up gasping.

Falte was staring at him expectantly. He raised his eyebrows and searched his son.

Had he said something?

"What?" Kai asked sluggishly. He took another bite of his food and felt his appetite leave. He sighed as his father shook his head.

"I asked you if you had another nightmare," Falte said in a slightly impatient tone.

Kai blinked at him for a moment. "Yeah, I did." He sighed and shoved his chair behind him, standing up. He walked over to the counter, put his dishes by the sink, and walked back to the guest room as Falte watched him with a sigh.

Shintaro was the only one in the room at the moment. He was still asleep, while Chase was sitting with his sister watching TV. Linda was reading, as usual.

Kai sat down on his mattress and stared at Shintaro. He was looking just as unsettled as he had last night, and Kai sighed. He wondered if Shintaro would ever listen to him and start doing when Kai always did. It really did make Kai feel a lot better, though he acted like it didn't. Besides, Kai wanted to know more about his friend.

Kai's mind wandered around into the same loop he always found himself thinking when he was alone. Where in the world was Moon, and what was she planning to do next? Was she hidden here in this town? What if she was spying on Kai and his friends from afar, learning more and more about them to teach herself new ways to torture them?

Shintaro groaned in his sleep, startling Kai so badly that he fell forward off his mattress, slamming his hands and knees on the floor. He looked up at his friend after calming his pounding heart to see Shintaro rolled onto his other side, his back now to Kai.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Kai stood up and walked over to his friend. He crouched down beside the bed with a frown. I wish he would tell me what he dreams about, Kai thought with another sigh. Then maybe I could talk to him about it. He touched Shintaro's arm lightly, hoping he wouldn't startle him. But Shintaro didn't budge. After a few moments, he clenched his fists and turned his head a little.

Kai got into a crisscross position and stayed there for a minute, watching Shintaro sleep. He knew that was a little strange, but he just wanted to be there for Shintaro, even when the man didn't know it. Then again, Kai had told him time and time again that he was always there.

He never would break that promise.

~

It was about an hour later when Shintaro finally sluggishly sauntered out of the guest room. He hands were in his pockets, and he immediately went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, which Falte had ready. Kai had left Shintaro to sleep about thirty minutes before and was watching TV on the floor with Chase and Abby, who were on the couch. He was sitting at their feet. He honestly didn't know what the heck they were watching (some black cat in a red cape, a blue bat with a peg leg and a yellow heart on her chest, and a badger with a robot arm, fighting for some city that had a very childish demeanor and king.), but he was fine with it. The jokes were actually pretty funny and the action scenes were good.

Kai looked up as Shintaro walked slowly past him. He opened his mouth to ask him how he slept, decided against it, and turned back to the TV.

Shintaro walked back out of the kitchen, cup in hand, and plopped down on the couch next to his son. Chase gave Shintaro a small smile and continued to watch the show. Shintaro yawned and watched the tail end of the episode with the best confused face in the world.

"How did you sleep, Dad?" Abby asked when the episode finished from Chase's other side, leaning forward to smile at her father.

"Fine," Shintaro said, and Kai saw through the lie immediately. He frowned up at Shintaro, who didn't even glance in his direction.

Kai sighed and decided not to say anything about it. He crossed his arms across his chest and shook his head slightly. Linda looked up from her book and gave Kai a look, before talking in his head.

"Did he not sleep well?" she asked him gently.

No, I don't think he did, Kai replied in his head. He woke up in the middle of the night last night, while I was awake because I couldn't sleep, from a nightmare. I told him that he could talk to me about it, but he didn't. I fell asleep, but I think he's been having really ... vivid nightmares.

"Hmm," Linda mused. "That's strange. I don't know if I can help him with that, though, because I can't even get into his head. If you want, I can help you with your nightmares." She threw him a smile from her spot, then looked down at her book again, abruptly ending the conversation - she probably didn't want to hear Kai tell her that she didn't have to.

Kai sighed and shook his head. He stared down at his hands. He didn't want to pressure Linda into relieving him of his nightmares. He was fifteen now; he could deal with his own nightmares. Even if they were memories of his past, he knew he could handle them. He was supposed to be tough person. Linda didn't have to help him. That would make Kai a burden, and he hated being a burden.

Shintaro sighed and leaned back, closing his eyes. Linda glanced up at him with a worried expression, then back down at Kai.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to try," she said to him in his head. "He looks really bad."

Kai gave her a small smile to show her that he agreed with that all the way.

~

Here is the second chapter! How do you guys like this book so far? I like how the characters have "grown up" and things have changed a little. I am really excited for this book!!!

Warning: There is ALWAYS going to be a really sad point in each book of mine, okay? Be READY FOR THE SADNESS OF YOUR LIVES IN THIS ONE.

Peace!!~~