Welcome to Gaia! ::

Darkness Falls
Fireflies bring in light.
Darkness rises.

This is kyushi. He rose back to life to finish a business deal,
because his parents were helicopter tiger people who
expected him to complete and excel in business and school. No one
told him it was okay to sit on his loins after he's passed on.

"Family first"
Aki hadn't seen his classmate Suki in this tired in his entire schooling career. The girl had bags under her eyes, and was both wane and listless. If he wasn't certain she wasn't sick, and he'd asked, he'd say she spent too much time studying.

Going to her desk, he bent down to see her eye to eye. "Suki-ya, I know you want to pass the exams with exceptional scores; but it is too much if you cannot stay up in class or get enough sleep. Please put yourself first on this. I won't look down on you for it. You look awful. I am your friend, Suki-ya. I want to help you, even if you will not help yourself."

She'd listened, eyes closed, only to peer at him when he'd finished. "Can I show you a secret, Aki-a? It would greatly relieve my exhaustion if you helped. You must not tell anyone. My family would be alarmed if it got out." He'd agreed without hesitation, and at the end of the day, he upheld his end of the promise even as he saw what was sure to lead to an early demise.
___________________________________________________________________

The students looked on warily as both classmates hauled themselves to their desks. Rumors were starting that Suki-ssi was a yankee, and dragged their classmate Aki into her thrall. While Suki was looking better, Aki was looked more haggard then when the school year began. No one said anything about it; but there was an unspoken belief amongst those who knew the two well that something sinister had to be going on.

School ended, and the two students deviated from the main road towards their neighborhood and walked into Suki's forested backyard. They passed her father, who shared a similar appearance, and the forest lead to a open area with a shallow cave.
Many of her family had been buried there, but only one had frequent guests. A sallow man, his hair tended to by Suki's mother, sat staring at the distant wall, sunken eyes only lighting brightly when he spied his niece and her classmate. Suki's mother excused herself, told them dinner would be on the table when they came to the house, and Aki was welcome to stay as usual. Floor mats were rolled out, and as they drifted off to sleep with an alarm set for two hours, her uncle came to life, hopping foward in glee.