𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞, 𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

blue

The night is a place full of the unknown. Hidden meanings thrive in the darkness as it engulfs everything in sight. That's why the fear of the night is usual. The dark hides the unknown from the world's brightness. It keeps the things it hides for itself and threatens those who attempt to steal them away.

Though inside a tent in the middle of nowhere, the night feels terrifying. So, when Giyuu feels something hitting his arm, his mind immediately wakes him up, and he looks around. A streetlight towers over the tent, illuminating the inside ever so slightly. He glances around the tent, looking at the zip to ensure it is still closed. It is, so he turns to Sanemi.

At first, Giyuu notices Sanemi's closed eyes. He's still asleep, so Giyuu goes to lie down. But something hits his arm again. He turns back to Sanemi, watching him for a second to see if he's the culprit. And when Sanemi flinches, Giyuu feels the hit again. He moves the blanket to reveal more of Sanemi's face, watching his features contort like he's distressed. Giyuu watches him for a moment longer, taking in the way Sanemi's jaw tenses, his eyes tightening and how his body moves.

"Sanemi," Giyuu whispers, lightly shaking him to see if he'll wake up. It doesn't work, though the contortions of his face relaxed, and his movements stopped. So, Giyuu disregards what he sees and turns to lie back down.

He manages to fall back to sleep. Though sometime later, he feels the hitting again. This time, when Giyuu looks at Sanemi, his breath is heavy, and there are beads of sweat lacing his face. He looks scared. Almost panicked. Giyuu pushes himself up with his elbows, shifting closer to Sanemi as he turns in his sleep. "Hey. Sanemi," Giyuu whispers again, tapping Sanemi's shoulder. Though the light taps and soft words weren't enough to drag him from the state his sleep was causing.

Sanemi continues to toss and turn, his face saddening with each passing second. The longer the dream lasts, the more concerned Giyuu gets. "Oi, Sanemi," He says, this time a little louder. With Shinobu and Kyojuro sleeping in the tent next to them, Giyuu was sure to keep the volume as low as possible. But this dream Sanemi is having isn't anything good.

Giyuu sits up, letting his body weight rest on his knees as he turns to face Sanemi and shakes his shoulders. The sudden movements shake Sanemi's body, his expression falls scared, and a single tear travels down the side of his temple. Giyuu notices the tear and panics. This dream quickly turns sour, and Giyuu isn't sure what to do. He moves closer, his knees pressing against Sanemi's arm. "Sanemi, wake up," Giyuu mumbles. He moves his face closer to Sanemi in hopes he can hear him. "Wake up," He repeats, shaking Sanemi's shoulders again.

The repetition of his words and movements wasn't helping. Sanemi is falling deeper into his nightmare, and more tears are falling down his face. The sweat covering his body alarms Giyuu, making him pull the covers away from Sanemi's chest, exposing the hoodie and keeping the warmth close to him.

His chest moves quickly, his breaths quickening, and slight whimpers are now escaping his mouth. Sanemi looks terrified. Giyuu's eyes lace with concern, worry taking over his face as he watches Sanemi drown in a nightmare. His movements become ragged, his hand gripping the fabric of Giyuu's hoodie as he attempts to free himself. Though, it doesn't seem to be working. So, Giyuu takes Sanemi's hand in his and lightly squeezes it. "Sanemi, wake up. Please, wake up," Giyuu says, his voice filling the tent, afraid of how Sanemi's mind is treating him.

A few more whimpers leave Sanemi's mouth, his breath quickens, and a broken sentence escapes into the world. A sentence that breaks Giyuu's heart into a million pieces the moment it enters his ears.

"Dad, please...stop,"

Sanemi's condition worsens, his breath becoming irregular as his body's movements become more aggressive. Panic fills Giyuu's body. "Oh, shit. Sanemi, wake up," Giyuu pleads, his voice at a more regular pitch that seems like shouting in the deafening silence of their tent. Sanemi doesn't wake up, cries leaving his mouth as he clings to Giyuu's hand. "Oi, please. Sanemi, darling, wake up!" Giyuu takes his free hand and shakes Sanemi's shoulders again. It was aggressive and desperate as he watched Sanemi cry.