Chapter 22 – For the Happiness of the Family

"Mom, I want to sleep with you tonight."

Yotsuya Miko's voice was quiet, her tone firm as she gently tugged her mother's hand and led her into the living room.

Inside, the spectral forms of her father and younger brother stood silently, almost trembling with anticipation.

"Honey…"

"Mom…"

Their voices echoed with emotion. Though invisible to her, their presence seemed to settle over Toruko Yotsuya like a warm memory.

"Really now, Miko. Aren't you a little old for that?"

Toruko smiled gently, ruffling her daughter's hair.

After everything their family had lost, Miko was her world now.

But then—

"By the way… Ethan will be staying over tonight too."

A blush began to creep up Miko's cheeks. This was the first time she'd invited a boy to spend the night at her house.

"Oh~~?"

Toruko's eyebrows arched high as she turned toward Ethan Kane, her expression suddenly sharpening into full mother-in-law mode.

"Then I'll go tidy up the guest room—"

"Wait!"

Miko's voice cracked out, and she fumbled with the hem of her skirt. "N-no need to go to all that trouble."

Ethan looked over, eyes narrowing.

(…She's going for it.)

"Ethan will… sleep in our room tonight."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Toruko blinked.

"…Huh?"

A boy. Sleeping in the same room. As her daughter.

In her room.

Toruko's brain short-circuited.

"I-it's not like that!" Miko squeaked. "It's not what you think!"

(That's exactly what she thinks.) Ethan sighed internally.

"We just—he has to be there. To suppress… the Hollow energy. For the happiness of our family!"

Miko threw the words out like a desperate confession. Her fists clenched. Her face beet red.

"…The happiness of the family," Toruko echoed.

She glanced over at Ethan again.

Tall, calm, with that strange yet handsome confidence.

The kind of boy who didn't flinch under pressure. Not like those indecisive boys in Japan who triple-text "wanna hang out?" before ghosting.

(…Wait. What am I thinking?) Toruko caught herself, her face heating up.

This wasn't about her. It was about her daughter!

"Mom…?" Miko looked confused by her mother's dazed expression.

Standing behind them, the ghosts of her father and brother nodded solemnly.

"She's right," the father said, a tear in his eye. "Ethan's presence stabilizes us. Without him, we'd slip again."

Toruko eventually sighed. "Okay. But Ethan sleeps on the floor!"

"Agreed," Miko said quickly.

—

Later that night.

Miko and her mother lay side-by-side on the bed. Ethan sat on the floor nearby, back against the wall, Sharingan glowing faintly as he watched over the ghostly father and son.

"I'm really sorry, Ethan-kun," Toruko said softly. "You're our guest, but we're making you sleep like this."

"It's no trouble at all, ma'am. I'm honored to be here."

Miko gave him a grateful look. "Thank you, Ethan."

They spoke softly to keep the mood calm—for the spirits, for themselves.

"If Dad and Kyousuke were still alive," Miko whispered, "I think they'd want us to be happy."

"I feel the same," Toruko added. "Some nights… I swear I can feel them near me."

A soft shimmer pulsed across the room.

The Hollow corruption in the souls of Yotsuya's father and brother began to recede—drawn back by the strength of love and memory.

Even without special abilities, Toruko's intuition as a mother and wife had bridged the gap between worlds.

"…Mom."

"Dad…"

"Kyousuke…"

White light began to glow around the spirits.

From where he sat, Ethan could see the Hollow holes in their chests shrinking… and the light of humanity pushing back the darkness.

(So… even corrupted souls can fight the Hollow influence with the power of love?)

It was a moving sight—even for someone like him.

A rare, fleeting moment of peace.

---

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