Recurring Nightmares
These days, my head feels heavy.
The reason was clear. It came from the strange dream I had been having lately—that nightmare that returned with stubborn persistence every single night.
The content was always the same.
Inside it, Hideo dies.
He dies, and dies again.
Burned alive, torn apart, erased inside the laboratory.
The method of death changed every time, yet the one constant was that he always perished within the lab.
Because of it, waking from the nightmare left the nape of my neck soaked in cold sweat and my heart hammering uncontrollably in my chest.
The nightmare’s cause was almost certainly the Dracore the Black Knight had parasitized—the one Yuto had secured.
How it had been receiving energy all this time remained unknown, but several of its systems were still active.
Thanks to that, Hideo had been able to pull fascinating data from inside the silent machine.
Deep within the Dracore’s core. A command tree restored from a sealed memory sector.
There, a target marker stood out with painful clarity.
“...So this was the original objective?”
Hideo muttered without thinking, yet his voice carried both doubt and fear.
This unit had never been designed for combat. Its purpose had been the “securement” of something.
The realization made him press his fingers to his temples.
If Yuto had not stopped the Black Knight that day, the consequences might have been catastrophic.
Still, it was over now. Hideo finished organizing the research data he had been reviewing, then rose from his seat.
“...It begins from this section.”
Since early morning the analysis room had been looping the cockpit’s internal footage.
On the surrounding monitors, real-time graphs of sensory feedback, neural response coefficients, pulse curves, and synchronization rates overlapped in layered charts.
One researcher froze the playback at the moment the synchronization rate suddenly spiked during combat.
“Right after this, the synchronization rate between the two jumps from eighty percent to ninety-one percent.”
In the quiet, the researchers began speaking one after another.
“Sensory amplification triggered by physical stimulation?”
“So… that act created a special stimulus for Luna, and that’s what raised the synchronization rate?”
“Perhaps shame played a part… Luna has always had quite a strong sense of pride, after all…”
Different opinions clashed, yet Hideo remained completely silent.
Arms folded, he stared at the footage with an expressionless face.
The video switched to high-resolution slow motion, advancing the cockpit interior frame by frame.
At first he had seriously debated whether to share this data with the team at all. The acts the two of them had performed inside the cockpit were hardly the kind of material one casually showed others.
If they had been complete strangers it might have been easier—just another set of data. But the male participant was his own son, and the partner was the girl he had looked after at the laboratory since childhood.
He had wondered how they had broken past ninety percent synchronization, but he had never imagined the method would be something like this.
Even so, it was not the kind of data that could be hidden simply because he wished to.
A synchronization rate exceeding ninety percent.
An unprecedented figure.
And it had happened in Yuto’s very first real battle—when a boy who had received no combat training drove the Black Knight back. Any researcher would have pounced on such results with shining eyes.
Yet as Hideo continued watching, a different question surfaced.
Then what about Yuzuki?
Yuto was a sincere and gentle boy. Surely he would not treat his own little sister that way.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to banish the images circling in his mind.
It was then that one of the researchers staring at the analysis screen muttered as if to himself.
“The method may have changed, but it wouldn’t be strange at all if Luna’s surname became Nakamura someday.”
The remark carried a nuance that went beyond simple teasing. Several nearby researchers let out small chuckles.
Many of the staff here had cared for Luna since she was a child. Their affection for her ran deep.
“Remember when the doctor agonized over whether to adopt Luna?”
“...I do. Though Luna refused at the time.”
“It’s a good thing she did. If she had been adopted back then, things would have become complicated for those two. They haven’t known each other that long—seeing how close they’ve become, problems would surely have arisen.”
The researchers meant it as a light joke about Luna and Yuto’s relationship, but Hideo simply closed his eyes instead of answering.
His expression never changed, yet behind his eyelids complex thoughts churned.
“I was already curious who Yuto would choose during the Dearest Project, but I never expected it to be Luna. Did Dr. Hideo guide this somehow? Perhaps you helped their relationship along?”
“...No.”
All he had done was give them a simple introduction at the academy recently.
No matter how young a man and woman might be, becoming that close in the blink of an eye was unexpected.
“In any case, it’s fortunate we can begin the Dearest Project sooner than anticipated. And since it’s Luna, she’ll likely remain cooperative with future research. That will make things much smoother.”
Hideo nodded silently.
Yes, perhaps it was for the best.
At least in every sense, Luna was the most cooperative of all.
A week had passed since that incident, yet the attention focused on me showed no sign of cooling.
The daily battery of increasingly complex tests drained me, and the fatigue had begun to seep into my unconscious.
Perhaps that was why research-related scenes kept appearing in my dreams lately.
Maybe that explained why my body felt especially heavy today. The blanket wasn’t particularly warm, yet it pressed down on me. Breathing itself felt difficult, as though sleep paralysis had taken hold.
Then something started shaking me.
Was it Yuzuki? Had she come to wake me from yet another late sleep?
It was a kind gesture, but with my consciousness still drifting, I unconsciously tugged the blanket tighter and curled into a ball.
But then—
“Still not getting up…?”
The faint murmur wasn’t Yuzuki’s voice. Startled, I snapped my eyes open.
“...Luna?”
As my blurry vision cleared, I saw Luna in her uniform straddling me, staring intently at my face.
When our eyes met she watched my reaction with clear interest, then smiled sweetly. Without hesitation she leaned down and planted a surprise kiss on my lips.
The touch was soft and warm. The instant our lips met, my heart seemed to leap. Though the kiss was brief, the lingering heat on my mouth felt strangely long-lasting.
“Morning kiss. Awake now? Or should I give you another one?”
Luna brushed her disheveled silver hair back and looked into my eyes. I shook my head and muttered.
“...What exactly are you doing?”
“Waking up Yuto, who was sleeping in, obviously.”
Why did it have to be like this, though?
Even under my dumbfounded stare, Luna met my gaze directly and slowly pressed her pelvis against me.
“They say men get full of energy in the morning, right? You’re the same, aren’t you, Yuto?”
With those words her hips sank down firmly onto my lower abdomen. I immediately felt a hard, rising pressure building from below.
“Heee…”
Luna noticed and smiled with deep satisfaction. She lowered her posture further, pinning the blanket with her knees and shifting her full weight onto my waist.
Then she rolled her hips once more, slowly. The friction between her pelvis and my lower belly made my breath catch.
Luna whispered while rubbing against me, clearly thrilled by my reaction.
“It’s so hard… You can’t just leave it like that. Wouldn’t it hurt?”
She leaned down again, clearly intending a slower, deeper kiss this time. Her eyes glistened with moisture.
But at that exact moment—
Bang!
The door flew open and urgent footsteps rushed in.
“Luna—!?”
It was Yuzuki.
“...Didn’t I tell you to wait quietly in the living room? Why did you barge into oppa’s room like that!?”
Yuzuki’s voice trembled with suppressed rage. She strode over and seized Luna’s arm where she sat atop the blanket.
“Get down. Right now.”
Luna refused to obey. Instead she clutched the blanket tighter and lowered her body, resisting.
“No. It’s not finished yet.”
Yuzuki stopped trying to persuade her with words. She simply yanked Luna downward with all her strength.
Luna fought back, still gripping the blanket, but her balance finally broke and she was dragged off the bed.
The blanket came with her—completely stripped away.
Sudden exposure.
The last barrier covering me vanished, leaving my lower body—clad only in underwear—completely bare.
The erection was impossible to hide. The swollen, reddish outline between my thighs and abdomen stood out sharply under the room lights.
For a moment, silence thick enough to choke the air filled the room.
Both Yuzuki and Luna stared at me, stunned.
Yuzuki’s eyes widened like saucers. Her face flushed crimson, burning as if set ablaze. Her lips quivered and her hands trembled in mid-air, unable to find purpose.
Luna, on the other hand, reacted completely differently. She blinked once, then broke into a sly, eye-crinkling smile and tilted her head, clearly enjoying the situation.
“It’s been a while, but… it’s much bigger than I remembered. So that’s why you’ve had trouble moving the last few days.”
Her voice was utterly relaxed. The meaning behind it was painfully obvious, shattering the silence in the room.
Yuzuki’s whole body burned even hotter. She squeezed her eyes shut, gritted her teeth, and snatched the fallen blanket with trembling fingers full of suppressed emotion.
In one swift motion she flung it over my lower body. Even as the fabric settled, her fingertips continued to shake.
When I finally regained my composure and left the room, rice and soup were already laid out on the table. The surface was neat as always, but the atmosphere was anything but.
I sat down and looked across at Yuzuki.
She was scooping rice with a completely blank expression.
Her face had been overcast for days.
Ever since that morning she had tried to act normal, but the forced behavior only made her true feelings more obvious.
That was why I had spent the last several days carefully watching her mood, trying to start conversations and smile at trivial things.
Just when I thought her expression had begun to thaw, it had frozen over again this morning.
And the reason was obvious.
I paused mid-spoonful of soup and glanced at Luna.
She had already claimed her seat as naturally as if she belonged there.
There was no tension in her posture whatsoever. Chin resting on her hand, she chewed slowly, looking exactly like someone who had lived in this house from the beginning.
Since last night, Luna had decided to stay with us for the time being.
There was the academy merger to consider, and Father had said the laboratory might be dangerous, so he could no longer allow her to live inside it.
I honestly had no idea what “the laboratory might be dangerous” meant.
Father offered no further explanation, and Luna simply moved in as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Thus our three-person meals had continued since yesterday evening. With no time to grow accustomed to the new arrangement, I sat holding my spoon in the awkward atmosphere.
…Let’s just wait a few more days.
Acting hastily would only make things worse.
Having decided to observe a little longer, I felt something tap against the tip of my foot.
At first I assumed it was an accidental brush of someone’s leg. Legs crossing under the table happened all the time.
I tried to ignore it—
Then it happened again. Tap. This time the pressure was deliberate, sliding along my shin. It was clearly a foot. And that foot began to move slowly, very slowly, upward.
The gentle curve traveling up my shin.
The soft motion felt like fingers crawling across bare skin. When it reached my knee it paused, then slipped into the sensitive flesh of my inner thigh.
From that point it was no longer a simple prank.
Slowly but surely the toes advanced toward my groin. They stopped directly on top of it, then pressed down through the fabric of my underwear.
Prod.
Again. Prod.
At first it was a secretive, testing pressure. Then the toes began to stroke and caress me with skillful, maddening softness.
At this point I turned my gaze toward Luna.
Another one of her games? But right then—
“I’ll get some water.”
Luna quietly rose from her chair.
Yet the foot between my legs remained, toes still pressing firmly against me.
Surprise must have shown on my face. If this wasn’t Luna’s doing…
…then only one person remained.
With a sinking feeling I turned to look at Yuzuki.
She was watching me with a faint smile.
And even as she smiled, her foot continued to explore me beneath the table.
