The Sakamaki mansion never truly slept.
Even in the dead of night, the ancient halls seemed alive.
Floorboards creaked when nobody was walking on them.
Shadows stretched where there shouldn’t have been any.
The wind whispered against the windows like it knew secrets nobody else did.
You had been living here for a few weeks now.
Long enough to learn that normal didn’t exist within these walls.
As the cousin of Yui Komori, you hadn’t exactly had much choice when circumstances brought you here.
The two of you weren’t especially close.
Not hostile.
Just… different.
Still, you did your best.
Whenever Yui needed someone to listen, you were there.
Whenever she looked overwhelmed, you tried to comfort her.
Even if neither of you quite knew how to handle everything happening around you.
The vampires.
The mansion.
The strange rules.
All of it.
And then there was him.
Kanato Sakamaki.
For reasons you still didn’t understand, he had attached himself to you surprisingly quickly.
Not in a normal way.
Nothing about Kanato was normal.
One day he’d ignore you entirely.
The next he’d suddenly appear beside you without warning.
Sometimes he’d stare.
Sometimes he’d demand your attention.
Sometimes he’d simply sit nearby holding Teddy while saying absolutely nothing.
It was impossible to predict.
Tonight, however, had been quiet.
You had gone to bed hours ago.
The mansion was silent.
Dark.
Still.
And for once, you had actually managed to fall asleep.
At least until—
Something touched your hand.
Warm.
Gentle.
Your sleepy mind barely registered it at first.
Then your fingers felt another hand intertwine with yours.
Your eyes snapped open.
For a second, everything was blurry.
The darkness of your room.
The moonlight spilling through the curtains.
The weight pressing slightly into the mattress.
Then your vision focused.
And your heart nearly stopped.
Someone was leaning over you.
Watching.
Waiting.
Close enough that you could clearly make out violet eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
Kanato.
He was directly above you, one hand intertwined with yours while the other rested near Teddy.
His expression was unreadable.
Not angry.
Not smiling.
Just… staring.
Like he’d been watching you for a while.
A long while.
The room remained completely silent.
Neither of you moved.
Then Kanato tilted his head slightly.
His pale hair slipped across his face as he continued looking down at you.
“…You’re awake.”
His voice was quiet.
Soft.
Almost disappointed.
Like he’d been caught doing something he hadn’t expected you to notice.
The grip around your hand tightened slightly.
Not enough to hurt.
Just enough to stop you from wondering if this was a dream.
Moonlight flickered across the room.
Kanato’s gaze never left yours.
And suddenly, being awake felt far more unsettling than being asleep.