Later on in the night, Yuma and Astral both moved to the hammock. It was Astral who suggested it. He needed the safety of knowing that they'd have an early warning before whoever was targeting people got to them.

~.~.~

The boys came downstairs to see Akari watching the news with wide eyes. They both shared a confused glance and joined her on the couch.

"...mass genocide. Our reporters have found more than twenty people in this state, and the numbers are expected to rise if the criminal is not caught." A picture of a woman was shown. Her chest was blurred out, but Astral and Yuma knew by the red coloring that this woman was just like Cathy. 

"Mass genocide..." Akari whispered, shaking her head. It didn't even bother her that she wasn't the one who reported this. Her concerns were elsewhere. "Who could have done this?" The boys could only shake their heads. "Well, I'm not having you two go out of the house, that's for sure. I'm not having you get killed like Mom, Dad, and Grandma."

The boys looked at her with worry, but they didn't argue. Apparently, Akari's thoughts rang true with the other parents since when they looked out the windows, the only things moving were the litterbots and the traffic lights. Was it even possible for everyone to have the same idea?

Apparently so.

Astral made it up to his room and took out the two cards, finding that he had no desire to pull out the third card given to him. The two cards were silent now, but Astral kept expecting them to talk in his mind, to tell him to pretend and use the boy, but he didn't even know what they were talking about! What did the voice mean when it told him to pretend? He had nothing to hide. What did it mean when it told him to use the boy? He had no reason to "use" him; family didn't use family.

Remember why you're here, one card suddenly said. Remember. The boy will take care of you. Use him. Remember.

He put them away a while after, feeling like keeping them out would bring bad news. They absorbed into his body painlessly. Were there cards out there where the people died? Even if there were, I don't want to look for them, he told himself. They could be bad news. Whatever I'm supposed to remember, I'm sure it won't be anything good.  Nothing good could come out of cards that told him to use his family and pretend when he had nothing to hide.

Just forget.

Remember.

I have nothing to remember.

The ship. The ship full of pods exactly like the one you used to need.

Stop.

There were children inside of them too. Your real brothers and sisters. They're in different worlds, already performing their duty. You should be doing yours too.

Stop this!

Remember your duty. You force yourself to forget. Remember it!

"I have nothing to remember!!" Astral suddenly screamed. Alerted by his own voice, he covered his mouth. He didn't want anyone to think he'd gone mad. Luckily, though, Akari and Yuma were still downstairs with the TV on. They probably hadn't heard him. Even if they did, it was more likely they were more absorbed in the news than in a random shout. "I have nothing to remember," he whispered. "My memories are my own."

The voice in his head had nothing to say to that.

~.~.~

Lunchtime came around. They were still listening to the news, which was still covering the deaths that happened the night before, but the Tsukumo household was hardly paying attention.

"You've gone pale," Yuma noted when his brother came downstairs. "Did something happen?"

So he didn't hear a thing. "I'm fine. I suppose I'm still shocked from the news."

Yuma nodded in understanding and didn't question it as he and Akari prepared lunch. He helped her, trying to lighten the mood in the household. Astral smiled at his attempts. They seemed to be working. Despite the shocking news the city had to swallow, they could be happy for now, at least.

Be happy all you want. Your brothers and sisters have remembered. Your home needs you.

Astral ignored the voice.

~.~.~

Haruto looked out from his window into the city beyond. It was unusually empty, but his brother was still out doing his job. He knew it was dangerous, but it wasn't Kaito who told him so. There was a bad feeling, though. For several days, he's seen a white, feminine-looking being with dark spots on its skin in his dreams. For the first few days, it had its back to him. The being was doing something, probably jamming its hand in something before pulling it out and moving forward. Haruto would always try to see what it was doing as it moved forward, but something prevented him from getting in front or seeing whatever it was leaving behind. 

That lasted until last night, the night when all those people on TV were killed. No, not killed. It was as though they were sucked dry. Oh, they were dead, very dead, but their essences were sucked right out of their bodies. The little boy somehow knew that their bodies wouldn't be found after a few days; they'd have disappeared, their physical bodies unable to exist with the essence now gone. The night that happened, the being in his dreams finally turned around and looked at Haruto straight in the eyes. In his dream, they were hollow and black. His right hand had a needle in it.

"Does that hurt?" Haruto had asked, unafraid and more concerned.

The being had looked at his hand and stared at the needle from different angles. "How could something that's a part of my body hurt?" Then, those endless eyes looked back at the young boy. He'd grinned. "We'll meet soon, Haruto. You have so much..."

And then he'd woken up. 

Looking out at the city now, Haruto couldn't help but shiver, knowing the being lurked within this city. Would he be safe in this tower? He should be, right? Kaito always assured him that he would be safe here every time he went out.

But that parasite was so sure they would meet! He stepped away from the window, as though it were already there.

But what was he about to say? He had so much what?