Summer's Dream

The Grave in the Mountains

A/N: Yes, this is the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it~!

._._._._._

It was a quarter past midnight as Kazuto tried to fall asleep, but something was keeping him up. He sat up and glanced over to where he knew where his desk was. A small, finished model of an old electric train sat near the edge of his desk, right under neath his lamp. Right next to it, were black, plastic rails he was nearly finished with. All he had to do was add the last railing and he would be finished!

The sixteen-year-old smiled at the thought of finishing the small scaled model of Osaka. He really wanted to go there, but that was just a wish. Already, he could imagine his little brother, Kirito, playing with the train and his baby sister, Suguha, making up a story to act out. He always loved it when his younger siblings would play with the things he created.

"Nii-san...?" called a hesitant voice.

Kazuto hummed in acknowledgement as he looked over to his open door. For a moment he wondered when he left his door open....then again, he did have a bad habit of not closing doors all the way. His little, nine-year-old brother peeked his head out the side of his bedroom door. His eyes were wide with slight fear and silent begging. "What's wrong, Kiri-chan?"

"I had a nightmare." the small child said. Kazuto paused for a moment as the words sank in. Immediately, he knew what dream Kirito had and knew without a doubt that Kirito wouldn't fall back asleep without a bit of coaxing. Kazuto didn't have to tell his brother to enter as the boy slipped into his room.

"Do you want to sleep with me?" Kazuto said as he raised the covers. The small boy nodded and settled right next to him. Kazuto laid back down and wrapped a reassuring arm around his little brother. He almost drifted to sleep until Kirito's voice broke the silence.

"Onii-san...you're here, right?" The voice was so soft, that Kazuto nearly missed it. "You're still here, right? Don't go away. Please. Don't go away..."

Kazuto stiffened slightly as his soft begging continued on. His heart wrenched as he hugged his brother a little closer. Before he could even answer, another voice came from his doorway.

"Kazu-nii? I had a nightmare..." Kazuto lifted his head to see his younger sister standing at the doorway with her favorite soft pink rabbit. "Can I stay with you?"

Kazuto couldn't help a soft chuckle as Kirito suddenly sat up. "Sugu, you too?"

Suguha nodded as she trotted into the room. The three siblings shifted on the bed give enough room for everyone. Suguha was in the middle while Kazuto's arm went across her chest. His hand rested on Kirito's upper arm, while Kirito laid on his side by Suguha, both of them hugging the rabbit.

Kazuto hummed softly to lure them to sleep. Lately, both of his younger siblings would walk into his room and end up sleeping with him. Their parents never questioned it, knowing just how close they all were.

About a minute or two, Suguha had fallen asleep, but Kirito was still awake. Kazuto ran his finger's through his little brother's hair and whispered in the still night air, "Do you want to see Tokyo, Kiri-chan?"

"Yeah..." Kirito answered just as softly. Kazuto grinned.

"I can't promise that I won't go away, but I can promise to let you see Tokyo." he said. His eyes slipped closed as Kirito's voice answered back.

"Tokyo...? Okay. I want to see it, Nii-san. I want to see Tokyo."

._._._._._.

Kirito's dark eyes suddenly blinked awake. He stared at his ceiling as the memory of his brother lingered in his mind. The normal sounds of birds chirping and the soft clanks and taps of his parents up and about echoed slightly in his room. Slowly, he groaned in irritation and rolled to his side when he realized what time it was.