As you opened your eyes, you were immediately blinded by an intense ray of sunlight. Squinting them, you placed a hand in front of your face to shield yourself from its brightness.

As your eyes started adjusting, the leaves of a tree started coming into view as they slowly fall to the ground. Each of them was in vibrant colors of yellow, orange, and red. As you breathe in the cool autumn wind, you could see the cloudless blue sky behind them. It was bluer than usual, as it was a deeper, more saturated color. Somehow, it reminded you of someone, but who was it again? Your memories were hazy for some reason.

"Get up, (Y/N). We should start heading home now." A voice said. Suddenly, the figure of a teenage boy loomed over you, his hair and eye color the same as yours.

Your eyes widened as you let out a small gasp. "Nii-chan...?!"

Your brother sighs, a smile tugging at his lips. "Yes, it's me. Are you still half-asleep, (Y/N)?"

You blinked a few times, wondering why you were so surprised to see him.

Realizing you were lying down on some grass, you stood up, looking at the scenery before you. You watched as more leaves fell to the ground, going with the flow of the wind.

Your brother took your hand with his much bigger one. You noticed the jagged, sickle-shaped scar along his forearm. Then, you craned your neck all the way up to meet his gaze. Strange. Were you always this small? You looked down at yourself, noticing how childlike your proportions are.

You frowned, wondering why everything felt so off. Before getting any more lost in your doubts, though, you felt a tug on your arm. Looking up, you see your brother walking ahead as he led you along.

You followed, admiring the endless row of colorful trees as you walked past them. Looking around, you recognized that this was the very same forest you would get lost in so many times in the night.

As you face forward once more, you see a fallen leaf just inches from your face. You manage to catch it, admiring its crimson red color. You didn't know leaves could be this red. A smile made its way to your face, and without thinking, you ran forward, stopping right in front of your brother. "Look, Nii-chan!" you exclaim, shoving the bright red leaf in front of his face. "It's a super red leaf!"

Your brother looks taken aback, before taking the leaf and turning it around. Then, he looks down at you, a gentle smile on his face. "It sure is. Do you wanna bring it home?"

You nod your head vigorously. "Oh! But I wanna find more of them!" You let go of your brother's hand, making your way towards the trees as fast as you can. The doubts you had just moments ago were completely forgotten, as you let the autumn wind blow past your face.

"Hey! (Y/N)!" Your brother calls out in distress, letting out a deep sigh.

Soon, you found another crimson red leaf falling with the wind. You take it before it reached the ground. It wasn't long before you found another, and another. They all seem to be coming from the same direction. Without thinking, you followed them, picking up more leaves along the way.

The deep blue sky seemed to have darkened and dulled. Strange, there were no stars or moon in the sky, just darkness. You kept going, though, not noticing everything fade out and disappear.

It wasn't long before you stopped in your tracks. In front of you was a tree much taller than the others you've seen. It had an ashen gray trunk and its branches were spread wide like a web. Most importantly, every one of its leaves was the same crimson red color you've been chasing. Its leaves kept falling, rustling loudly with the wind, but it seems like there was no end to it.

You ran up to the red tree. Its leaves loomed over your small frame, casting an eerie shadow. Even so, you innocently stared up at it in awe.

You looked down at the trunk's base, seeing more of those crimson red leaves gathering on the ground. You quickly dropped to your knees, collecting as much of them as you can into your arms.

"Nii-chan! Check this out!" You turned your back to call for him, only to see nothing but darkness.

Your smile dropped and your excitement faded away. You finally wondered how it got so dark, or where your brother was. Slowly, you turned back to the leaves you've collected.

Splish. You seemed to have touched some liquid.

You immediately looked down at the ground in front of you, where those red leaves were gathered. Or at least, supposed to be.

Instead, you were greeted with your own reflection. Your reflection in a puddle of crimson red blood.

You flinched, and your eyes widened as you wondered where all the leaves went. However, you didn't seem afraid of it at all. In fact, you kept staring at it, and at your red-tinted reflection.

Strangely, you wanted to touch it, to see how it felt. Before you were about to stain your hands, however, another figure's reflection appeared in the puddle, right beside yours.

Quickly whipping your head to the side, you saw a familiar figure. "Nii-chan!" you exclaimed. But something was wrong. His face was pale, the same ashen gray color of the tree's trunk. His cheeks and body were splattered with crimson, the same color as the leaves. Lastly, the light in his eyes was lost as he gazed at you with empty eyes, just like the pure darkness surrounding the both of you.

You wanted to say something, to ask what's wrong, but words wouldn't come out of your mouth. You couldn't speak, no matter how hard you tried. Instead, you were left staring at him, just like moments ago with the mysterious puddle of blood.

Slowly, your brother lifted his right arm to reach for you. You could see his scar, looking more pronounced than ever. You wanted to reach for him as well, but you couldn't move. Instead, you were forced to sit still, watching as he placed his hand on top of your head.

You looked at his soulless eyes, wondering if your brother was really there. As the wind blew and as more crimson leaves fell, the tiniest smile formed on his lips. He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Even so, you knew exactly what he had just said.

"Let's go home."

_ _ _

It suddenly went dark. Everything had disappeared. An uncomfortable sense of dread started welling up inside you as you looked around in the pure darkness. You were alone, and you couldn't see anything.

You don't know how you got here, but that dread started worsening, but for what reason? Slowly, the air around you started to thicken, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"...(Y/N)?" you hear a familiar voice call from afar. It reverberated through the space you were in as if you were inside a dark cave.

At this point, you could feel the air thicken even more, so much so that breathing became impossible. Unable to scream or call for that familiar voice, you simply stood there in the darkness as your chest began to tighten.

"(Y/N)!"

You immediately shot your eyes open, inhaling sharply as you did so.

"You were twisting and turning with this huge frown on your face. What happened?"

It was still relatively dark, but small amounts of moonlight were seeping into the room, allowing you to make out some objects. Turning to the source of the voice, you were greeted with a familiar shade of light silver hair, and deep blue orbs that looked just like those autumn skies. However, they looked a little more worried than usual.

"Killua? What are you doing here? Why are you awake?" You sat up from your bed, wiping a bead of cold sweat from your forehead. 'What was that...?'

Killua sighs. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to get up and walk around for a bit," he said, standing right next to you with his brows furrowed. "You left your door open and I saw you twisting and turning like crazy in your sleep."

Your eyes widened slightly as you scratched the side of your head sheepishly. "O-Oh... I see..." you averted your eyes. "It's a good thing you woke me up, then." You found yourself smiling softly, though Killua wasn't able to see.

Killua's brows furrowed even more as his eyes narrowed. "(Y/N), what's going on?"

"What?" You looked at him with widened eyes.

Sitting right by the edge of your bed, Killua gazed at you intently, waiting for your reply.

You let out a deep sigh, holding a hand to your head. "I..." you trailed off, trying to remember what you saw. However, it just seemed to fade away even faster the more you tried to remember. "I had a dream..." you managed to say.

Killua hummed thoughtfully. "What did you dream about?"

"Well, I..." you paused, trying to grasp at the memory. However, all you could remember was the sound of rustling leaves, and that suffocating feeling long after it was over. "...I can't remember for some reason." you inhaled sharply, not wanting to experience that feeling again.

Killua furrowed his brows.

"I feel like... I'm forgetting something important..." you trailed off once again, leaning back until you touched the pillows, a confused frown on your face.

Killua noticed how exhausted you looked. Slowly, he felt his heart start to sink. "Look, (Y/N)–"

"All I remember was darkness all around me, but for some reason, I couldn't breathe..." you continued. "My chest was tight, and I felt this sense of doom that I couldn't really understand."

Killua didn't reply. Instead, he looked like he was in deep thought.

Realizing how worried he might be, you quickly sat up once more. "It's not that big of a deal, I swear!" You waved your hands around in an attempt to calm him down. "I'm just a little tired and stressed. That's all, really." You managed to crack a small smile at him.

He shook his head. "No, it is a big deal," he said, getting up from the edge of the bed. "I know we just discovered some promising leads in the warehouse, but you're pushing yourself a little too hard, (Y/N). I think it's time you got some extra rest."

"Killua, I'm fine, really." You attempt to reassure him.

Killua scratches the side of his head as he lets out an exasperated sigh. "You're being stubborn again."

"Well, I just don't want you worrying about me! I'm fine, promise!"

As you said that, Killua's eyes glinted in a way you've never seen. Suddenly, he sat back at the edge of the bed again, leaning towards your face and looking straight at you in the eye. "(Y/N), you idiot. Who knows what would happen to you if I stopped worrying?" he muttered, a deep frown on his face.

You went silent, staring back at his blue orbs.

Killua closed his eyes and shook his head as if he just stopped himself. "Go back to sleep, okay?" He got up, pulling your blankets closer to your chin.

As he was about to leave the room, you found yourself calling for him. "Wait, Killua!"

He craned his head, looking back at you.

"If it's okay with you..." you paused, avoiding his gaze. "Could you stay with me for a bit longer? At least until I fall back asleep again."

His eyes grew as wide as saucers, and his cheeks turned beet red. After what seemed like forever, he finally turned his body to face you. "M-Might be for the best. We wouldn't want you having weird nightmares again." He shoved his hands in his pockets, avoiding your gaze.

You gave him a small smile. "You're the best, Killua," you say, watching him sit back down at the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, yeah. Now sleep." He mumbles, training his eyes at everything else but you.

You watched him fondly, a gentle warmth bursting from your chest. Slowly, you felt your eyelids start to get heavier and heavier, and it wasn't long until you fell back asleep. A much more peaceful look adorned your features knowing that Killua was right there with you.

Killua finally decides to look at you, watching your chest rise and fall steadily. He finds himself smiling, though his eyes still held that hint of worry. Slowly, he reached a hand out to gingerly stroke your cheek. Finally, he gets up, leaves the room and closes the door without a sound.