Ayano tucks Tsubomi and Kousuke into bed and whispers, "Good night, sleep tight," over their heads, letting her breath tickle their foreheads so they'll giggle and smile, another little ward against nightmares that doesn't always work, but she still tries anyway; then she pretends to do the same for Shuuya, who suffers the facade with petulant pouting at least until they're sure the other two are asleep, which is when the both of them slip out of the bedroom to continue to investigate the secrets Dad's hiding. And there's so much of it, so very well hidden away, that Ayano doesn't find herself climbing back under her own sheets until four, five in the morning each night, even on school nights.

She's so tired she feels like she could sleep for a hundred, thousand years; her grades are slipping, Shintaro snaps at her more because she keeps zoning out in class, unable to focus on anything but just how heavy her eyelids feel, and Kousuke and Tsubomi both trust her, both still don't suspect anything's wrong but they will if this keeps up, and she's already dragged Shuuya into this mess, her mess, Dad's mess- no, no, she can't think like that, heroes don't think like that: things will be okay; she'll fix this soon, and Dad can stop acting so strange, and Shuuya can not have to be involved in all this, and Tsubomi and Kousuke won't have to worry, and Shintaro won't hate her anymore, and everything will be just fine. It has to be.