Three Months

Jackets

"Whew, I'm exhausted," Luigi breathed as he and Mario finally got back home. It was well past midnight, but a day out with friends was really overdo. Mario and Daisy traded off between winning. Luigi and Peach basically fought for third place the entire time, but it was still fun. Luigi set down his stuff, threw his jacket off, (he was wearing one tonight because it was late and slightly chillier than comfortable, even though it was early August, arguably the warmest time of the year,) then plopped face down on the couch while Mario kicked off his shoes and muttered something about how he was going to bed.

Luigi nodded, giving an exhausted thumbs up, then sat up and rubbed his eyes. He too probably should have gotten to bed. In fact, he was about to, when he noticed something... off.

Where was Polterpup? The dog didn't even rush up and say hello as soon as he and Mario walked in. The little guy was usually waiting by the door. What gives?

Luigi hummed in thought, then shrugged and assumed that the ghost dog must have fallen asleep with Dimentio. It was rather cute how Polter had seemed to take a liking to the former villain. Luigi hoped that it wasn't bothering Dimentio too much. There never were any pets back at Castle Bleck as far as he was aware, so he wasn't sure what Dimentio's opinion on them was. As far as he could tell, it didn't seem like Dimentio truly minded the ghost dog. 

He carefully walked upstairs, taking off his shoes and walking on the tips of his toes so he wouldn't make much noise and wake Dimentio up. As soon as he got to the guest room he slowly and carefully opened the door, peeking his head inside. The way he did it almost reminded him of the way he'd open doors during his haunted house adventures, slowly and quietly in case there were ghosts inside.

Only, there weren't ghosts inside. 

Actually, there was no one inside at all. No Dimentio OR Polterpup anywhere to be seen. 

"Dimentio?" Luigi quietly asked, opening the door wider and flicking the light on. Surely enough, the bed was empty. 

The man in green stepped inside, slightly curious. He actually had hardly gone into that room at all anymore ever since Dimentio pretty much moved in. It appeared that Dimentio had a neat and organized living style. The bed was made, the floor was clean, and every book Dimentio had was neatly stacked on the nightstand. 

Luigi noticed that all the books Dimentio currently had were either about ancient magic or mythology. Plus and one astronomy book. The man in green wasn't sure if he should have been concerned over the fact that Dimentio was reading up on magic, but decided not to look into it too much. 

If Dimentio was truly planning something big, he'd be much more discreet in hiding the evidence. He'd never be sloppy enough to just leave a book linking him to an evil plan just lying out.

Luigi raised an eyebrow, then walked to the window, looking up at the sky. Dimentio left the curtains open and the window slightly cracked. The air was still, not even a hint of movement. 

It was almost like Dimento had left the window slightly ajar so he could feel a breeze if one were to come. He did often point out the fact that he wished one would blow past. 

"Where did you go..." Luigi muttered, taking a step back and cracking his knuckles. It was a nervous habit that he just couldn't seem to break. 

He then turned around himself and headed back downstairs, grabbing his jacket and his flashlight, then stepping outside. 

He doubted that Dimentio would do something as silly as stealing his ghost dog and leaving, but Luigi still felt obligated to look. 

He wasn't afraid that something bad had happened. He was sure that this was nothing, but there was still that etch of worry in his mind. There was that voice in the back of his head saying that someone could have seen Dimentio and taken him away.