Chapter 1: To the brightest of mornings to the darkest of nights

She woke up with a cold sweat, panting heavily, her eyes wide. She rose up, still panting as she pressed a hand to her temple. A growing headache was coming to her.

The faint visions and familiar voices all plagued her mind as she settled down. She could hear thunder outside, in the distance. The wind was blowing hard, pressing up against the side their bedroom was facing.

Suddenly, she gasped when the figure next to her shuffled the covers to their bed, rising up. He quickly turned the nightstand lamp on, light brought to the dark room.

"Ayumi? Sweetheart, is everything okay?" He turned to her, worry stricken across his face.

She hesitated to tell him the truth. Whatever she had envisioned in her slumbering mind was alarming her greatly.

"I'm fine Yoshiki, please go back to sleep. You have work in the morning," She reassured him, not wanting him to lose sleep because of her.

"I don't know… you just woke up panting heavily. Are you sure you're okay?" He pressed on, leaning in closer.

"It was just a nightmare, okay? We all get those, don't we?" She kind of told the truth. It felt nightmarish to her, but at the same time, it felt too real.

"Well yes… You're not dreaming about… that again? Are you?" He tilted his head, his worry deepening for her. It didn't occur as much anymore, but she would dream of their horrible past, reliving the hell they endured during their high school years.

"No…" She shook her head, trailing off as her gaze shifted to the opposite wall. He frowned, his brows furrowing.

"Don't lie to me, Ayumi," He replied, his voice stern. She let out a deep sigh.

"I'm fine, really," She emphasized, and he didn't have the energy to keep fighting her. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he turned to shut the lamp off.

Suddenly, a loud crack of thunder and a flash of lightning caused the lamp to turn off on its own.

"Dammit, the power went out," He mumbled under his breath, but she heard it.

"Ugh," She groaned.

They couldn't do anything to fix the power outage though. Living in an apartment complex, they didn't have control over the electricity of the area.

Another loud boom of thunder and flash of lightning struck across the skies, the rain finally coming down in a heavy down pour.

"Mommy! Daddy!" A shriek from the other room caught the adult's attention. A small silhouette ran into their bedroom, quickly hoping onto their bed before they could get the chance to get up.

"Ami! Sweetheart, it's only a thunderstorm!" Yoshiki was quick to aid the child, letting her hide her face in his chest while he wrapped his arms around her small form.

"But it's loud and scary!" She looked up at him with big eyes, her own arms tightening around the plush animal she had brought with her.

Their daughter had a fear of many things, especially thunderstorms. She's very skittish as she grew up, looking to her parents to console her through her fears. Even being at the age of eight, she wasn't as explorative as her peers; but what she lacked in the sense of adventure, she made up for it in her learning skills. She was a very smart girl at heart, taking in information and quickly learning the lesson at hand. She was also much calmer than many of her peers, as well as had a high respect for her parents.

Another flash of lightning and crack of thunder caused the girl to whimper and nuzzle into her father's chest. Ayumi was quick to rub the girl's back, just trying to reassure her daughter that everything was okay.

"Do you want to sleep with us tonight?" Yoshiki murmured to Ami, and the girl raised her head, her face beaming. She didn't even answer him; she went between the two and covered herself over with the blankets.

"Guess that answers your question," Ayumi murmured as she settled back into bed, Yoshiki doing the same. The headache that had formed earlier had not gone away, but she ignored it with the best of her abilities. She huddled close to her daughter, feeling Yoshiki wrap an arm around the both of them.

"You're too protective of us, you know that?" She smirked at him, and he chuckled softly.

"Only because I love you both so much," He replied, and she couldn't help but smile. She felt herself drift off to sleep soon after, the thunderstorm outside growing faint.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Japan…

Satoshi woke up suddenly, taking in a sharp gasp. Something plagued his mind while he was sleeping, but everything was so faint and quiet, he couldn't exactly tell what he had seen.

But, something about his dream seemed too familiar, a fading memory.

Fortunately, his awakening didn't cause the figure next to him to wake. He couldn't blame her. Both were under lots of stress, especially with the new arrival of their third child.

He shifted his body so that he was facing her. He could tell she was suffering horrible exhaustion; their newborn son was keeping her up most of the night.

He reached out, brushing her chestnut locks out of her face. He leaned forward, kissing her forehead gently before settling back down to sleep.

But, the dream he had was looming over him, haunting his thoughts. Something about it was so oddly familiar.

He couldn't concentrate on his thoughts anymore though, his eyes closed as he fell back to sleep.

The next morning…

Yoshiki was dressed in his normal working clothes, a casual button-up shirt and the cleanest pair of jeans he owned. He was still suspicious of his wife's behavior from the night before, but he would only bring it up if it was necessary.

The storm had long since passed, the smell of rain filtering through the apartment. Ayumi was already up and in the kitchen, preparing a small breakfast for Ami, the young girl at her mother's side. For being calm natured, she certainly had an appetite.

Passing his wife, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pecked her on the cheek. Ayumi giggled, but Ami let out a gagging noise. He smirked, turning and walking to the fridge. They didn't have coffee very often, as the two tried to keep their budget low so they could afford other extremities.

He pulled out the milk carton, and grabbed a glass from the cabinet above.

"Oh, honey?" Ayumi suddenly broke the silence between the small family, the dirty blonde turned to her.

"Yes?" He asked as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Can you pick Ami up from school? I'm planning to go to that job orientation… I might be there way past her school hours," She didn't turn his direction, still focused on Ami's breakfast.

"Of course, I should be off before she get's out," He obliged. Soon after, Ami set her breakfast down onto the table, starting to indulge in it. He saw Ayumi turn the corner, exiting the kitchen. His guess was she was getting dressed, still being in her pajamas.

To Yoshiki, he didn't mind their small life-style. It was a bit tough, when money ran short, but they were getting by with what they had. He had a few small jobs, never able to go to college after graduating from high school. Ayumi had graduated from her art university when Ami was five. Now, the woman was searching for a suitable job. She was planning to get hired by a nearby high school, the education center in need of an art teacher.

Ami was their source of pride and joy. Initially, the child was an unexpected obstacle in their lives, but they loved her with all their hearts. Her smile could lighten anybody's mood, especially her father's. He would come home, exhausted and on the verge of breaking down from the constant harassment of his bosses. She would always be there though, brightening his mood.

Yoshiki, feeling it was his responsibility, was extremely protective of his wife and child. Ayumi didn't mind his efforts, knowing that there was someone close to her that would beat a man's face in if he dared touched her inappropriately. She wasn't one for violence, but liked the idea that she was looked after.

Yoshiki sipped at his glass, finding solace in the initial silence of the apartment…

Elsewhere…

Satoshi walked out, in a casual suit for his job. The living room of the small home they accompanied was surprisingly empty, especially with having three children, all under the age of ten. He could only guess that they were still dressing themselves for school that day.

His guess was proven when his two eldest children ran out, dressed in their appropriate attire. He wasn't expecting them to tackle his legs, both wrapping themselves around them. He almost fell, but managed to stay balanced so he wouldn't harm them.

"Hi daddy!" Both chorused their greetings. He chuckled, patting the children on the heads. They didn't seem to keen on letting his legs go, no matter how much he really wanted them to.

Aya was their eldest child, and only daughter. Being at the age of seven, she had a very energetic and adventurous personality, always being outside when she played. Shigeru, or nicknamed 'RuRu', was the complete opposite of his older sister. He was a year younger than his sister, but seemed to be the less noisy one. He was often quiet, being more of a listener than a speaker. Even for being so young, he could easily sit through someone talking, and hear what they had to say. Even if he didn't understand what they were talking about most of the time.

Koji was the youngest child of their family, only being two weeks old. He might not have much of personality because of his age, but his parent's could easily identify him as a fussy infant.

"Is your mother still with baby Koji?" Satoshi asked the two children, and Aya nodded vigorously. They finally let go of his legs, standing before him. Aya started to fidget with something in her pocket, and he blinked.

"Aya, are you okay?" He asked, and she nodded, smiling.

"We wanna give you something!" She exclaimed, finally pulling something small from her dress pocket. He couldn't see what it was, her hand hiding the object. She raised her arm, finally showing what it was. It was a small glass bottle, attached to a thin, red ribbon. Inside this said bottle, were lightly-colored green beads. He knew of these little trinkets, his younger sister stilled collected them to this day. He knew that each one had some sort of meaning to it, either it be protecting the holder or showing some other emotion.

"We want you to have this daddy… We thought it'd be really nice for you to have one," Aya replied, and he smiled, leaning down to their level. His younger sister, Yuka, had recently visited the household, wanting to see her new nephew. She would always bring gifts for the other two children, so these scented beads were probably from her.

"Is there a reason behind them?" He asked, taking the beads gently from his daughter's hand. He smells a faint odor of spearmint from inside.

"Aunty Yuka says their supposed to protect you," Aya acknowledged, and he rose an eye-brow.

"Protect me? From what?"

"The monstas! There's scary monstas out there daddy!" Shigeru stepped in this time. Satoshi couldn't help but smile at their innocence. They probably meant his boss and co-workers. When he had taken the children to his work-place a few months ago, his fellow employee's really scared them.

He let out a soft chuckled, placing the beads in his coat pocket. He patted both children on the head.

"Why don't you two go into the kitchen, I'll see if mommy is up to making you two some breakfast," He rose back up, and both children nodded and ran off towards the kitchen.

Walking down the hallway, the door to the nursery was cracked slightly, dim light from inside shining through. He opened it quietly, afraid that the baby might be asleep. He saw his wife on the chair next to the crib, nursing the child. He head rose up when he walked in.

"How is he?" He whispered, leaning down before her. Naomi smiled softly.

"He's doing just fine. He was a little fussy earlier, but he's calmed down now that he's nursing," She whispered back, rubbing the infant's back through the blanket that was covering her chest. Naomi wasn't insecure about nursing in her own home, Koji was less of a problem to nurse with a blanket covering him. Neither of the parents knew why, but they would do whatever they could for him to eat properly.

"I guess you're a bit busy right now… so I'll go and prepare for some breakfast for the other two," He murmured.

"I would love to… but… yeah," She frowned. She hated not being able to tend to her other two children. She was quite thankful he was around to help fill in the spots she couldn't. Satoshi rose back up, quickly kissing her forehead before turning around and walking out quietly.

Ten minutes passed, and both of the older children were finishing up the small breakfast her had prepared for them. He knew he would have to leave soon, work would start in another hour.

Naomi had come out from the hallway as he headed towards the front door, baby Koji in her arms as he slept. She wouldn't have to work at her job for another week, as she was still on leave. Naomi was an assistant nurse at the city's hospital. She had graduated medical school three years before any of their children were born, and loved her job.

He walked over to her, wrapping his arms gently around her waist. He hated being away from his family, especially when she had three children to take care of on limited hours of sleep.

"I'll try to be back before dark," He whispered to her, pressing his forehead against hers.

"Okay…" She murmured back, her eyes downcast. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, pulling away moments later. He turned, heading for the doorway to head off to his job…

Yoshiki was broken from his thoughts when he felt a deep, pulsating rumble go through the apartment. Ami stopped from her breakfast, looking around wearily.

Suddenly, every started to shake; objects that weren't heavy started to fall from the counter top, cabinets swung open, glass plates falling and shattered on the tile floor.

"Ami!" He yelled to her.

"Daddy!" She shrieked, panicking as the loud sounds were causing her to freak out. Yoshiki lunged from his seat, and ran over to her, grabbing her and dropping to the floor. He held her in his arms, leaning over her smaller body to shield her from falling objects and rubble.

Ayumi gasped as the bedroom shook. Her first instinct was her to drop the floor and cover her head. There was nothing to hide under. All she could do was pray that nothing would fall on her. Luckily, she had managed to get on clothes, so her back wasn't bare to broken glass or other sharp objects. She could hear personal items falling from the nightstand and drawers.

Satoshi stopped abruptly when the house started to shake. His first actions were to keep his family safe. He turned quickly, lunging over to Aya and Shigeru, holding them in his arms as all they sunk to the floor. Naomi had hit the floor as well, holding Koji close to her chest in a tight hold.

When they thought it was over, Ayumi rose slightly, looking at the damage the earthquake had caused.

Then, without warning, the floor beneath her broke apart, a black abyss beneath her.

And all went black…

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