Your body automatically wakes up to the absence of the familiar fiery warmth that is Kyojuro. The room is dark. You wonder how your darling can fight demons in the darkness of the night. Speaking of your darling, where is he? You don’t hear him in the kitchen, so he’s not up for a midnight snack. So, could he be in the bathroom?​

You decide to wait.​

For what feels life hours (but has only been four minutes), you wait. But he doesn’t show up. You’re starting to worry. Where is he? Did he get a mission from the Master? No, he would have woken you (oh-so-gently) and tell you where he’s going.​

You finally get up and start to look for him around the house. You check all the rooms, until you find him outside, sitting on the engawa. His back is turned to you, and his carefree, cheerful aura is gone, replaced by something much more somber. His head is buried in his hands. His body is ever-so-slightly shaking, as though he’s trying to suppress it.​

It takes you a moment, but you recognize the signs. Ha had a nightmare. But if he did. . . why didn’t he wake you?