Chapter 4

The days turned to weeks, and Luke was starting to notice things.

He may have been out of the house most of the time, but he wasn't that oblivious. The little things were adding up and it didn't bode well for Luke.



During the weekends, he noticed his brother no longer tried to make conversation with him or his sister. He would spend most of his time with his room. This was strange for him, because he knew how much Kenji wanted to make the weekends count with everyone.

He was also starting to notice something strange about his little brother. His bright blue eyes were starting to get hazy. He was starting to lose more weight. Kenji had been through a lot of video game addictions, but this was one Luke could not allow to go far.

But...the haze in those crystal eyes....that's what bothered Luke the most.

He came home early one night and barged into his little brother's door. There he found his little brother's eyes glued to his monitor.

"Kenji..." Luke started.

Regardless of the sound of the door barged open, the boy remained where he was.

"Kenji..." The older man walked across to where the computer was.

His little brother was like a robot. Only his hands moved, his right holding the mouse while his other typing certain keys on the board. Luke realized that there were headphones on him which may explain the lack of response, even if usually Kenji had the hearing of a dog.

He placed a hand on Kenji's right hand. "Kenji..."

The younger boy blinked and the haze in his eyes were gone. He looked up to see his brother, his face with a tinge of concern.

"You're home early, brother." He said pointedly.

"I noticed you've been kind of addicted to your computer lately." Luke replied, then after he saw Kenji giving a face, he added "More than usual anyway"

Kenji shook his head. "I'm fine." He started closing some windows on his computer.

"Really...you don't look like it."

Kenji snorted. "I don't think you will really be able to know."

"I do." Luke replied calmly. He sighed. "You should go to bed."

Kenji got up and crawled to his bed which was behind him. He said nothing more as he curled up under the blue sheets.

Luke walked until he was facing his brother from his bed. To Luke, it seemed that Kenji had been alright

"How are you?" Kenji whispered.

Luke sat on the edge of his bed, pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "It's...been hard. We'll get by...I promise."

"I know..." His younger brother whispered.

Luke ruffled Kenji's brown hair. "Sleep well." He muttered before he could leave the room.

As he heard the door shut, he closed his eyes and tried to zone out. For some reason, he was getting good at it.

He started seeing visions of his younger self being carried by an older boy. He saw that older boy smile, and his younger self smiling back.

Kenji gave a deep sigh. He could not let it go.

In the same house, a room not too far from his, was Luke lying horizontal on his bed as he found a strange interest in the ceiling.

He didn't like that haze. Several years ago, he saw that haze with his younger brother. It was a short dark time for everyone, but in the end Kenji could not remember and it all went well.

Until now.