I've had this happen to me way too many times, and it still does. It's terrifying.

Haruichi squeezed his eyes shut, curling as small as he could and clutching the blanket over his head while gripping his skitty toy as tight as possible. Tears were welling under his eyelids, and his breathing was shaky.

He'd always had problems with the dark, but it'd gotten worse as he'd gotten older and his imagination more lifelike. He could /feel/ someone else hovering over him, waiting for him to emerge when he /knew/ he was the only on in the room.

Some nights he could hear the soft breathing, the rustle of clothes as the figure shifted and the ghosting sound of his name on those pale lips. If it was a really bad night, he could even /smell/ the sweat, though part of him thought it was his rather than the others.

Near the beginning, he would keep his eyes wide, shifting around the room as he trembled in the corner of his bed, a flashlight in his hands. He swung it around swiftly each time he thought he saw movement, only to find nothing different than during the day.

The first time the flashlight died, he /saw/ the face, pale and grinning as though it had been waiting for this moment. It was right next to the bed, staring at him with black eyes that had an otherworldly shine.

He'd screamed so loudly the neighbors had called the police.

After that, he'd taken to curling under the blanket, his eyes squeezed shut while mentally chanting over and over that it wasn't real, it was just his imagination. There was nobody in the room and he was safe. His parents were down the hall and his brother was right next door.

It had become more frequent, that the shadowy figure visited him at night, and he was losing sleep because of it. Maybe it was because his brother was leaving in a few weeks, and wouldn't be able to come to his rescue. Maybe it was because he'd watched a horror movie a few nights ago with his brother. Maybe it was a psychological problem.

Whatever it was, he just wanted it to go away.

Sobbing a little, he curled up even tighter as he felt the figure get closer with an airy whisper of a laugh. In his minds eye he could /see/ the knife, as long as his forearm and sharp enough to cut with just the slightest touch. He knew that if he pulled off the blanket, if he opened his eyes, the figure would kill him.

It was a certainty, no question or doubt in his mind about it. Letting out a little sob, he let the tears flow, wetting his pillow and skitty. "O-Onii-chan."

/

Ryousuke didn't know what woke him, but he knew once he opened his eyes he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Yawning, he rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom, only to pause when he heard whimpering from his brothers' room.

Frowning, he quietly opened the door and peered inside. Gazing around the room, he found nothing out of place save for the shaking bundle in the corner of Haruichi's bed.

Sighing slightly, he flicked on the light, blinking rapidly until his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness before shutting the door and making his way over to the bed. Sitting on the edge, he tugged lightly at the blanket. "Haruichi. What's wrong?"

He wasn't prepared for his brother suddenly lunging at him, clinging to him so tightly it was hard to breath and sobbing into his shoulder, soaking his shirt with a combination of snot and tears.

Scooting his way further onto the bed so he wouldn't fall off, he put one hand on the back of his brothers' head, the other rubbing his back comfortingly. He knew anything he said right now wouldn't help, so he stayed quiet and waited for the younger teen to quiet down.

Only when the sobs were reduced to sniffles did Ryousuke pull back slightly and wipe away the tears on Haruichi's cheeks. "What's the matter?"

"I-It's n-not re-real. I-I kn-know that. I-It f-/feels/ r-real."

"What's not real? Haruichi, what's going on?"

"H-He co-comes when...when it's d-da-dark. H-He wa-wants to-to kill m-me."

"Who?"

"I-I do-don't know."

Ryousuke stared at his brothers terrified eyes and wondered what he could say to make it better. He wondered what he could do to help him sleep so the bags under his eyes would go away. Biting the inside of his lip, he smiled and put a hand on Haruichi's head.

"Do you want me to stay here tonight?" He relaxed a little when the terror drained out of his little brothers' tired eyes.

He stood up to turn off the light, but a hand gripping his shirt kept him from moving forward. "Don't." Turning back, he saw the terror had returned. Not wanting to scare Haruichi more than he was, he nodded and climbed back onto the bed.

Laying down, he pulled his little brother close, stroking his hair and humming the lullaby their mother used to sing to them when she would tuck them in at night. Gradually, Haruichi started to relax and his eyes started to slide shut, his breathing evening out.

"How am I going to leave like this?"

/

In the morning, while Haruichi was out practicing his swings, Ryousuke confronted their parents about the problem.

"I thought he was fine after that night with the police," Haruna frowned, watching her baby from the window. "He never said anything and he seemed to be fine. I knew he hasn't been sleeping well, but I thought it was because of the movie a few nights ago."

"Apparently it only happens in the dark. He was fine when I turned on the light, but was terrified at the thought of me turning it off again."

"He'd refuse a nightlight," Ryounosuke mused. "Depending, it may even make it worse."

"I'll look around when I go shopping later."

Ryousuke nodded and went to join his brother, wondering if they'd be able to solve this before he left.

That evening, after excusing himself to finish his homework, he started looking around online. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, so he searched for 'cool night-lights for teens'. That didn't get him very far, but after clicking around for nearly two hours, he found something that may work.

It was a small globe that displayed the stars and constellations when turned on. You could even rotate it or set it to display what was outside in your location. The best part was that he could pass it off as a present.

Grinning, he went ahead and ordered it to arrive a few days before he left. He figured that he could chase away any imaginary people who came for his brother in the dark until it arrived. Besides, spending a little more time with his baby brother before he left didn't sound like that bad of an idea.

When it's dark and even if I'm with someone else, I still get a sense that there is someone in the room with me. I even though I saw someone standing behind my roommate once and we were both freaked out because she has these experiences too. We had to turn on the light and with the way she had her blanket on her bed, it looked like there was some hiding under it and peering out at us.

Anyway, let me know what you think! And even though I can't draw, I want to attempt a fanart for this story. Any ideas on which chapter?