Should We Help?

That morning, Shunsei’s dorm room was still dim.

The curtains hadn’t been drawn, and the smell of instant coffee was spreading from the little desk in the corner.

Kaito was sitting on Shunsei’s bed, hair messy, eyes puffy like he’d just woken up.

“These past three days… I’ve felt weird, Shin.” He mumbled.

Shunsei turned slowly while pouring hot water into two mugs.

“Weird how?”

Kaito rubbed the back of his neck.

“Like… something’s been following me. Right behind me. You know that feeling... like eyes watching you? But when I turn around, there’s nothing. And loud sounds… even something falling, I jump like crazy. That’s not usually me.”

Shunsei placed the mug on the table and handed it to him, then sat down.

“Maybe you’re stressed? Got something going on?”

“No. Everything’s normal. But… it started three days ago... Out of nowhere, I suddenly feel this.”

Shunsei went quiet. His gaze drifted to the wall.

Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t just stress. But he couldn’t say for sure.

“Try resting. Don’t overthink it. If it gets worse, talk to me again.”

Kaito nodded slowly, but his face still looked anxious.

A few minutes later, he left to go back to his room, holding the mug of coffee Shunsei made.

“I’ll return the mug later, yeah?”

Shunsei just nodded and gave a faint smile.

As soon as Kaito left, the door opened again. Mizuki stood in the doorway, face as neutral as ever.

“Ohayo.” Kaito greeted politely with a small smile.

“Ohayo.” Mizuki replied with a nod, smiling lightly.

They exchanged glances briefly before Kaito left. Mizuki stepped in and shut the door.

Shunsei was preparing another cup of coffee.

“Still spoiling me, huh.” Mizuki said, lounging casually on the edge of the bed.

“Just habit, I guess.”

Mizuki gave a small smile, but Shunsei stayed serious.

“Mizuki. You notice anything weird about Kaito lately?”

Mizuki shook his head.

“Not really.”

“You sure?”

Shunsei looked him dead in the eye.

“Do you sense anything… following him?”

Mizuki chuckled, half joking.

“I mean… shouldn’t I count?”

But Shunsei didn’t laugh.

“I’m being serious.”

Mizuki sighed, his face settling into a calm, serious expression.

“I can feel it. Yeah. But… that’s it.”

“Why haven’t you done anything?”

“Because it’s not doing anything. And… I don’t care.”

Shunsei crossed his arms, frustrated. But deep down, he knew, Mizuki wasn’t human.

“But I care. Kaito’s literally our friend. Can’t we do something?”

Mizuki stared at him for a while, sigh, then slowly nodded.

“Alright. But it won’t be easy.”

“How bad?”

“If I force it in one night, it’ll mess him up. Like, trauma level bad. If we take it slow… it could take a month.”

Shunsei went quiet.

“I’m okay with that. As long as it helps, and it’s safe.”

Mizuki smiled and gave a thumbs up.

“Cool! Just bring Kaito here tonight.”

Shunsei nodded, no longer crossing his arms, curiosity creeping in.

“I’m still wondering what that thing looks like. Can you see it?”

Mizuki went quiet for a beat.

“Not all entities have a form. But this one does it, looks like a small doll. Just kind of… floating behind Kaito’s head. Its head’s upside down. His body is all white, except for its eyes and mouth, those are pitch black. Its expression looks surprised. Its mouth’s open wide, vertical, but reversed. So the eyes are below, the mouth’s above.”

Shunsei shivered. He instinctively rubbed the back of his neck.

“How are you gonna get rid of it?”

Mizuki was quiet for a moment. Then whispered.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.”

Shunsei crossed his arms again, serious.

“I don’t like when you hide things.”

“It’s not that… I just need a locked room. Silence.

I can’t be distracted, even a little. But I promise, Kaito won’t be hurt.”

Shunsei thought about it, then nodded.

“Okay. As long as it’s safe.”

That night, Shunsei texted Kaito, asking him to come over.

He explained Mizuki could help with whatever was messing with him.

Kaito was skeptical.

“I mean… I don’t see anything. I just feel it.”

“I know. But you trust me, right?”

Kaito finally nodded.

“What’s the plan?”

“Sleep with Mizuki.”

Kaito’s eyes went wide.

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. Not like that. Just sleep. That’s all.”

Kaito sent a sticker: “no freaking way.”

But Shunsei insisted.

“Just try it. You’ve got nothing to lose. Literally just sleep.”

Kaito typed and deleted his reply a bunch of times. Eventually, he gave in. He was tired. And he knew Shunsei wasn’t the type to play around with.

“Okay. As long as it’s just sleep. Nothing else.”

That night, Kaito showed up at their room.

“For real, I just sleep? You’re not gonna do anything, right?”

Mizuki nodded with a small smile.

“Yup. Just sleep. You’re safe. If anything goes wrong, it's Shunsei”

Shunsei narrowed his eyes at Mizuki. "Whatever."

Kaito still looked unsure, but went along with it, because Shunsei said it was okay.

At midnight, Shunsei gently woke Mizuki up.

Mizuki stirred… and his arm started to morph, like a leech.

It coiled around Kaito and lifted him like a sleeping doll.

Shunsei swallowed hard watching it.

“Did I mess up recommending this…?”

Mizuki locked the door from the inside.

Shunsei stared toward the bathroom door, trying to fall asleep… but all he could think about was that thing, and what Mizuki was doing.

The next morning, Shunsei woke up first and made coffee for three. Mizuki was still sleeping.

Kaito eventually woke up, holding his head.

“Shunsei,” he whispered.

“I had a weird dream…”

“I was walking in this dark place. There was just a small light coming from me. People were around… but they didn’t feel right. Like, they looked human, but I'm not sure. And I feel my bad memories came back. From my past.”

Shunsei frowned.

“First time dreaming like that?”

Kaito nodded silently. Means no.

“I guess… it’s part of the process. I’ll ask Mizuki later.”

Kaito took the coffee Shunsei made and headed to his room. Shunsei had a morning class, so he left soon after.

That afternoon, under a tree on campus, Mizuki sat beside Shunsei.

Shunsei was reading when he suddenly asked.

“There are side effects, right?”

Mizuki paused.

“Yeah. That’s why I’m doing it slowly.”

Shunsei didn’t respond. He just hoped things wouldn’t get worse.

Four days later, on a silent night, the exorcism entered its final phase.

In their bathroom, locked inside. Mizuki was trying to remove the entity from Kaito’s body.

But suddenly, another entity appeared.

Stronger than the one Mizuki was fighting.

Now, three entities were in play.

Mizuki was still the strongest. But he was overwhelmed.

Blow after blow, and each hit hurt.

He got angry. He lost control.

He unleashed everything.

And it worked.

But after it was done, he let go of Kaito, and his face darkened.

He realized… he’d gone too far.

“Shit.” He muttered, holding his head, dizzy.

“I pushed it too far.”

The next morning, Kaito sat silently on his bed.

Eyes empty. No tears. Just broken.

His old trauma, once buried, was now awake again.

Shunsei asked how he was, but Kaito just said.

“I’m fine.”

Then left the room.

Shunsei felt uneasy.

He wanted to ask Mizuki what happened, but Mizuki was still asleep, and Shunsei had class early in the morning.

In the afternoon, Shunsei heard Kaito had taken a leave from school and was seeing a psychiatrist.

He knew then, what really happened.

Time passed four days later, back in the room, Mizuki greeted him as usual.

But this time, Shunsei didn’t look okay. He looked… angry.

“You said he’d be fine.”

Mizuki stood up and panicked. Knowing this would happen.

“I was overwhelmed! There wasn’t just one! I couldn’t hold them off...”

Shunsei didn’t respond.

“Shunsei… I’m sorry.”

“I’m done. I’m switching rooms.”

“This isn't just about Kaito. I really don't know you.”

With a hollow expression, he started texting the dorm admin, then packed his bag, folded his clothes, got ready to leave.

Mizuki stood still… then from his back, long, leech like arms emerged.

Lots of them.

One shut the door. Another closed the curtains.

“Why…?” Mizuki asked softly. His voice flat. Resigned.

“Why are you leaving…?”

The arms sealed every corner of the room.

Walls. Windows.

The air grew heavy.

“I… want to be with you. I want to stay with you.”

"No, you can't leave me."

Shunsei froze, back against the wall.

Mizuki walked toward him, gaze never breaking.

“You’re not allowed to leave,” he whispered.

“You belong to me.”

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