Her screams still haunted him.

Her horrified cries, the frantic, terrified call of his family name whenever they'd been separated for just a moment, as if she couldn't stand the thought of being alone. It all stuck with him, even long after they'd escaped.

She still did that actually; look for him whenever he was out of sight. Especially in her sleep. If Yoshiki so much as turned away from her it wouldn't take long before he felt her pale, dainty hand wrapping around his waist and pulling him back to her, still dead asleep. It got a little annoying whenever he needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, but Yoshiki really couldn't bring himself to mind too much. Her behavior was justified, after all.

Today, however, was different.

Nightmares were another thing the two of them shared - was something their whole group had to deal with, actually - and tonight was no exception. His dreams were filled with events from the past, both real and fake and it wasn't long before he found himself shaking in his sleep.

He found Ayumi's body cut cleanly in half, found her lying dead on the floor with a large chunk of her body chewed out and, disturbingly enough, the foul taste of thick blood dripping down his throat. He found her possessed, mists of dark energy surrounding her small form and coming at either Naomi or himself with a knife held in her palm and a far too wide grin pulling at her lips, her eyes wide enough to come popping out any second.

Yoshiki also saw visions of himself; recalled moments that he by no means should have survived and yet still did. He saw himself getting hit in the back of the head with a sledgehammer by that ghoulish monster of a man, saw himself get locked up in that tiny, claustrophobic room he really should have died in. He also relived the time he'd jumped and fallen between a pile of countless dead and rotting bodies, fighting to keep the bile from rising up his throat.

That last one….the heap of bodies he'd found that day had really left an impact on him. Yoshiki sometimes even saw them in broad daylight.

Finally, he shot up in bed, his eyes wide and his breathing ragged and heavy. He was sweating bullets, the last image he'd seen one of that damn cursed child holding a pair of scissors above Ayumi's eye while a possessed Satoshi held Yoshiki's own struggling form back. Because apparently that was enough to wake him.

He swallowed, his trembling hands slowly reaching up to push wet, sweat-slicked hair out of his dripping face in order to regain some form of control. His breathing was still out of control, flashes of that fucked up school still popping into his vision regardless of the fact that he was wide-awake now and if he kept this up, Yoshiki was sure he might just start hyperventilating. He should recognize the signs by now.

But then a cold, yet soft hand touched his waist and went on to slip underneath his soaked shirt. The feeling of her hand on his skin was something familiar and it grounded him enough to slowly bring him back down to earth; enough for him to hear the soft whisper of his name on her lips.

"Shinozaki," he croaked out, more so out of habit than conscious thought, before trying again. "Ayumi."

"Easy," her fingers stroked circles over his stomach in a soothing manner, her worried blue eyes scanning his face for any sign of panic. "I'm here."

Swallowing again, Yoshiki slowly turned his head to face her, just having this sheer need to see her alive and healthy despite hearing her drowsy, tired voice coming from right beside him. He just needed to look, needed the certainty.

He found her looking at him with tired eyes, the concern in them about as evident as his own terror. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing nothing but one of his old shirts and a pair of panties but at least she was here, and without thinking, Yoshiki reached for her face. His hot, sweaty hands cupped her cheeks and pulled her even closer to him. Close enough until their foreheads touched.

He closed his eyes. "You're safe."

Her hands closed over his. "We both are."

Her voice was like a beacon, a melodious lullaby he could come back and fall asleep to at any time. In the beginning, when they'd been trapped in that school and even when they'd finally managed to escape, Yoshiki had to act as her knight. He had to be there to protect her, both from death and from herself, and he'd been happy to do so because it was Ayumi and he really would give up the world for her. He'd put his own petrifying fears aside in order to act as Ayumi's support, had been there to help her whether it be physically or mentally. He'd always been there and he still would be for as long as he lived.

Only...the older they got and the more Ayumi started accepting that it was not her fault, the less his support had been needed. Instead, it had been him who needed her help.

Maybe it was because he wasn't forcing himself to stay strong anymore, or maybe it was just his time to finally crack under the years of pressure, but now it was Yoshiki's turn for the pain and the nightmares. It was his turn to recall the most traumatic event any of them would ever experience in their still-growing lifetime and from the looks of it, he would recall it for a long time to come.

And Ayumi - lovely, stubborn little thing that she was - took it all. Regardless of her own lingering need to have him within reach at all times, she easily set that aside in his moments of need in order to take on his previous role as knight. She didn't ask him much, didn't force him to speak. Hell, she didn't really do much other than assure him he was safe and that she was there with him and hold him until he calmed down, but it worked wonders.

Ayumi let go of his hands, instead locking one of her own behind his neck to bring his head down to her chest, easily shifting their positions until she was lying comfortably between the blankets and pillows and he was completely cuddled against her smaller body, his ear still on her chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of her heartbeat.

It took a while for him to properly calm down, but sitting like this, curled up against his girlfriend with his eyes closed and his mind empty….Yoshiki really couldn't wish for anything more.

Ayumi's fingers had softly been going through bleached strands of hair this entire time, not saying a word until she was sure he'd calmed down. When it finally happened, the first thing she did was pick at his soaked shirt with the tip of her fingers and wrinkled her nose in mock disgust. "You should change out of this," she said. "Absolutely reeks. It's gross."

Yoshiki chuckled. "Says the one who blew her nose on my uniform."

"Hey! It was out of necessity!"

"Of course it was, class rep," he teased, the nickname one that would stick regardless of how many years they'd been out of high school.

Yoshiki tilted his head back, staring up into her pouting face. His eyes searched hers, focusing mainly on her right and his mood darkened again just a little. You wouldn't be able to tell it was fake if you weren't aware of it first, but the fact that she had to go around half blind because of that damn curse was enough to get his blood boiling.

But then he thought of her time in the hospital, remembered how dead she'd been and how hard he'd tried to get a response out of her for months on end. The fact that he was sitting here with her right now, sleeping in the same bed and holding a proper conversation instead of him having a one-sided conversation with her empty shell...he really couldn't be more grateful.

Yoshiki leaned up, tugging the startled girl down at the same time until their lips connected in a soft, sweet kiss. He tried his best to convey as much of his emotions in that single kiss as was possible, put his all into it because really, that's what she deserved. He'd fight for her for as long as he'd need to, and she'd do the same for him.

So when Ayumi closed her eyes and kissed him back, in that moment, Yoshiki really did feel like he had everything.