December 22nd

~3 Days Before Christmas~

It happen again the next night.

Zarc was getting ready for bed when there was knock on his door.

He opened it not only to see Yugo, but also Yuya and Yuto.

"Can't sleep on your own?" He asks.

All three of them nodded their heads.

"Alright. 1 more night." Is all Zarc says.

Yuri was awoke by a crash in the night. He sat up straight in his bed and listened quietly, his mind still shrouded in the sluggishness of sleep. The crash wasn't followed by a string of curse words, signaling to Yuri that it wasn't Zarc. It couldn't be Yugo either since he most certainly would had made a fuss if he had spilled something. So it either had to be Yuto or Yuya.

Deciding halfheartedly that he should go and check to make sure whoever the culprit was was alright Yuri got out of his warm bed and headed downstairs, holding onto the railing. Surprisingly, there was no lights on in the kitchen or, anywhere for that matter, to show that someone was up. Yuri went straight to the kitchen and flicked on the lights.

The bright light hurt Yuri's eyes for a moment, but when he was able to see clearly again he was more than annoyed when he saw that the crash had came from their trash can and most of its contents were all over the floor. No one was in the kitchen so Yuri knew that whoever had caused the crash had left their mess on the floor. Yuri's guess then immediately changed to Yugo. Yuya and Yuto wouldn't have left the mess on the floor and Zarc wasn't dumb enough to even cause the mess, much less leave it there.

Yuri had half a mind to go up to Yugo's room and drag the boy back downstairs to clean up his mess, but he decided not too and picked up the trash can instead. He was too tired to be bother with Yugo's whining. Maybe he should just leave the mess and go back to bed? Yuri looked back at the mess and shook his head at himself.

No. The mess would only get worse if he leaves it on the floor like this, not to mention the smell. Yuri steps carefully over the garbage and grabs the broom and dustpan that's on the other side of the room. Sweeping up is a bit difficult due to his smaller size, but he manages.

As he is sweeping the trash into a pile, Yuri hears a door creak open. The boy looks up from his work, but no one comes walking into the kitchen. Slowly, Yuri leans to the side to look out the doorway to see that the basement door was now wide open.

Now Yuri knew that the basement door was closed when he came down. The basement door was always shut. For it to be open now would mean someone would have to have opened it. It couldn't have been open from the outside because then Yuri would have heard their footsteps on the wooden floor.

As soon as that conclusion had came to Yuri's mind, the lights in the kitchen suddenly went out. Yuri's grip on the broom tighten immensely. Yuri didn't dare move. He sat there, in the middle of the kitchen, in the dark, trying so hard not to breathe too loudly. At first, everything was dead quiet.

Then...Yuri heard it.

A soft hissing noise. A sort of sound that Yuri would hear his pet make on occasion. But he doesn't move.

The hissing was coming from behind him. It was followed by heavy breathing. With each breath, the tips of Yuri's bangs would sway with it.

Whatever that was behind him wasn't human.

And it most certainly wasn't small.

The broom starts to shake in Yuri's hands. He wants to call out to his brothers, to his family, but he couldn't. Although one of the youngest siblings, Yuri has watched his fair share of horror movies and knew most of the cliches.

Yuri doesn't acknowledge whatever is behind him. Instead he continues his cleaning, although it is at a snail's pace. When he has swept up all the trash Yuri picks up the dustpan and tosses the trash back into the can. Yuri could still hear the creature hissing as he moved but he kept his eyes trained forward.

Do not acknowledge it. Do not show fear. Do not show that you know of its existence. Do not show interest.

Yuri doesn't set the broom back in its original spot. He instead sets it next to the basement door as he exits the kitchen. He grabs a hold of the railing and begins to make his way up the stairs. Just as he is halfway up, he couldn't help but jump as a door suddenly slams shut. He pauses for a moment before risking a glance back.

The basement door was the one that had slammed shut and the lights were back on in the kitchen.

Yuri doesn't go to turn them off. He continues climbing.

He walks past his room and keeps walking straight down the hall till he reaches Zarc's room. He opens the door and shuts it behind him. In the darkness Yuri could just make out the sleeping shapes of his brothers. Yuri counts heads just to make sure.

Yup. All of them were here.

Yuri goes over to the other side of the bed and proceeds to nudge Yugo awake.

"H-huh?" Yugo stirs, blinking sleepily.

"Budge over, Yugo." Is all Yuri says. Now usually, Yugo would question his brother. But maybe it was because he was still tired, or perhaps he can see the silent fear in Yuri's eyes, regardless of the reason, Yugo gently pushes Yuya closer to Yuto. Yuto, sensing the shift, also scoots back providing more room but is too tired to wonder or ask why. Zarc is awaken by the movement of Yuto bumping into his back. Yuri crawls into the warm space Yugo had left and settles down beside his family.

"You okay?" Yugo yawns quietly.

"...Yeah." Zarc sits up, seeing Yuri on the other side of the bed. He knows something had happen to him, but he also knows that Yuri is more closed off than the rest of them. Reaching a hand over the others, Zarc gives Yuri's shoulder a comforting squeeze to let him know he was there.

"We're here for you, Yuri. Don't worry."

"Hmm..." Yuri hums in reply before closing his eyes. Yugo lets out another yawn before also nodding off to sleep. Once Zarc was sure everyone was sleeping peacefully he also settles down and falls back asleep.