Yumegari Here you have "Yumegari", unfinished novel by Clamp. This is all I managed to found.

It's propably all published text.

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Yumegari (Dream Hunter) Presented by CLAMP Story: Nanase Ohkawa Illustration: Mokona Apapa Translated by: Rika and Minako Takahashi Edited by: Kristin Huntsman

"There is no human being that does not dream. Everyone dreams, and then..."

He may be reticent, he may have no greed. But humans sometime become martyrs of trickery when faced against the powers that control the night...

Such a beautiful sky, I thought.

A clear blue beautiful sky. This is probably what they call a cloudless blue sky. I am walking under that blue sky. In a woven basket in my right hand is a green and black stripe patterned 'watermelon.' Such a ripe and large watermelon. It should be pretty heavy,

but it is not a strain. I walk on with the watermelon that sways to and fro with each step. The sun's rays are strong, but it's not hot. I am wearing the winter school uniform -- the black sailor's uniform -- but I was not sweating. I walk. I keep on walking. I keep on walking as if I was savoring each step along the narrow gravel pathway. My shadow grows longer towards the horizon, as if it is leading me somewhere. I felt an urge to pass my shadow, and I increased my speed. The sun keeps shining into my face from the front, like a ripe persimmon. On occasion, a nameless group of white birds fly by. I become stubborn to my shadow, and I start to trot faster from the leisurely stroll. But no matter how much time passes, I cannot pass my shadow. My shadow keeps speeding up as if it did not want me to pass it. The watermelon in my hand is heavy. I lose my feet many times on the gravel, but I keep on running. The watermelon sways and keeps on bumping into my right leg. I run out of breath. I wonder why I was running, and become unsure of myself. Why did I start to run? Oh yes. To deliver the 'goldfish bowl' that looks like a 'watermelon.' In the 'goldfish bowl' were four goldfish with red tailfins, swimming along. I was in a hurry to deliver this.

I must hurry, hurry and deliver this. The water will all spill out and there will be none left. Yes. There was a hole in the goldfish bowl. That is why it will run out of water if I do not hurry. When the water runs out, the goldfish will start walking on two legs and go out to eat a meal. Come to think of it, I think I feel hungry. Once I realized it, the hunger only gets worst. I am hungry. If I do not eat, I might die. Suddenly, 'something' made a sound somewhere far away. What is that? I do not know. But it is a high-pitched sound as if it was calling my name. But I am hungry. Really hungry. I want to eat anything. Even if it is not cooked - I do not care if it is raw. I want to eat. Oh. I realized the weight bearing down on my right hand. There was a goldfish. I can just eat the goldfish. So I looked at the goldfish bowl in my right hand. There was a 'telephone' in the goldfish bowl. The familiar phone in the sitting room. The black cordless phone. Oh. I realized something else. That high-pitched sound that has been ringing is the phone. I put my right hand inside the 'goldfish bowl.' I pull out the phone from the water inside the goldfish bowl, and put it to my ear. But the high-pitched sound does not stop.

That is funny, I picked up the phone. Hello, I try saying. There is no answer. I say Hello again in a stronger tone of voice. Then. 'Someone's voice' echoed in the back of my ears.

"Yoohoo.... breakfast is ready, Tatsumi-chan."

----- 1 -----

".... and then you woke up." To those words of the man sitting across the dining room table from her, Tatsumi nodded, keeping her seat upright. Tatsumi Houjyou. 17 years old this year. A girl who is a junior in high school. Her straight jet-black hair stretches down to her back. She is 167 cm tall. Pretty big, even compared to the current high school girls who are said to be "growing well" as of late. Her solid frame, one that cannot be described as frail, is wrapped up in a black uniform. Most people would describe her as beautiful, but also she has an aura that make people think she is not easy to approach. Eyebrows that look like they were drawn in with sootink {the black stuff used in old Japanese/Chinese calligraphy. comes in a block, and you scrub it against a whetstone to make ink. this reference is to the ink created in such a way}, and eyes with light pigmentation below those eyebrows. Although her personality is not one of the most amiable, the eyes are the

reason why people who meet her for the first time always act cautiously. Though she has no intentions of such things, people whom she stares at starts fretting about what to do. "A 'watermelon' turning into a 'goldfish bowl'...." But the man sitting in front of Tatsumi seemed to feel at ease with her stare, and was nodding typing on his laptop that he had placed on the table. The man's name is Kyousuke Kaga. His hair, cropped short, is slightly brownish, but it does not seem to be colored. He always wear glasses, although his vision is fine. 180 cm tall. He looks young because he always wears jeans and T-shirts, but he will turn 28 this year. His right ear is pierced. He seems to look like a suspicious professional, but his occupation is as a 'writer.' The laptop that he is using is apparently a part of occupational materials. But what Kyousuke is typing in front of Tatsumi now is not his usual porno novels. "What kind of goldfish bowl was it?" Tatsumi squinted to Kyousuke's question, trying to remember. "..... it was an ordinary goldfish bowl." Tatsumi answers slowly. She is not speaking slowly on purpose, taking account of her mysterious appearance. Tatsumi is just not good at speaking fast. "There's a lot of difference in ordinary bowls too.... You know, like it was ruffled at the top, or the top had a blue fringe -- like a goldfish bowl you would find at Sazae-san's house {Sazae-san: a popular manga and anime by the late Machiko Hasegawa (I think that's what her name was) about a good old-fashioned

family with a twist: a dad, a mom, two daughters (about 15 years apart, I would say), a son, and the daughter's husband and son.} or a bowl with interesting polkadot patterns all around, and the colored stones that were placed above and below the bowl were really colorful...." As if he was trying to talk for the slow-speaking Tatsumi, Kyousuke's tongue glided over the words. Tatsumi gave a puzzled look. She squinted again, as if she was trying to remember. "..... it was transparent...." Kyousuke nods and copies Tatsumi's words on the laptop's screen. ".... and the water was also transparent...." The sound of the keys as Kyousuke types urges her to go on. "..... and ordinary." "....................." Kyousuke's fingers freeze. He stared at Tatsumi. Tatsumi returns the gaze. "....... Okay, so it was an ordinary goldfish bowl. An ordinary one." Tatsumi silently nodded. "Or-di-nary." Kyousuke makes an extra-large noise as he pounded the word into the laptop. He stared at the liquid crystal screen of the computer with a thoughtful groan. "When you were walking along a 'gravel path' holding a 'watermelon,' the 'watermelon' suddenly turned into a 'goldfish

bowl.' You don't know why, but you suddenly got hungry, and when you were just about to eat the 'goldfish,' the 'goldfish' turned into a 'telephone.' And you woke up." Tatsumi patiently waits for Kyousuke's next words. "Hmmmm.... four 'goldfish'...... four. There was a flock of white birds, and you were trying your best to pass your shadow, Tatsumi-chan...." He sat there cross-legged, crossing his arms and thinking. "The hunger was probably from the fact that it was breakfast. The 'telephone' is just the dream's interpretation of the alarm clock that was ringing in real life. The problem is the 'watermelon' and the 'goldfish bowl'...." When Kyousuke was about to say the next word: Something made a sound. It was from Tatsumi. Like a "Grr" or a "Kyrr". The sound signalling a hungry stomach rang across the room. It seemed to come from Tatsumi's stomach. Tatsumi herself looked surprised. But then, Tatsumi is not the type of person that changes facial expressions often, so it was just that she opened her eyes a little more. Kyousuke scrunched her hair somewhat violently with a smile. "Okay, we'll keep it at that, and eat." Tatsumi quickly followed Kyousuke, who stood up and went to the kitchen. It had been only two months since the two started living together in this 3 LDK {3-bedroom, Living, Dining, Kitchen} apartment in the Setagaya ward of Tokyo.

Because the mansion was Kyousuke's property, Tatsumi feels like she is living at his expense. Even if that was not considered, Kyousuke was doing most of the housework because she was a student. Laundry and housecleaning were split, but Kyousuke often cooked. Although the food and the rent were split 50/50, she still felt apologetic. When she entered the kitchen, the breakfast was already cooked, waiting only to be served. Tatsumi quickly took the shamoji {rice scoop} that was next to the chopstick stand in order to serve the rice. Opening the rice cooker, the delicious aroma of takikomigohan {a rice dish where some goodies, whether it be veggies or meat or whatnot and the rice are cooked together} came flowing up with the steam. It was intricate work for breakfast, but Kyousuke seemed to excel in cooking; the foods served in the room always looked like they were brought out straight from a culinary magazine. Tatsumi thought that she should have learned to cook, as she scooped the rice with the shamoji. Because her mother could not cook because of her occupation, she also just enjoyed eating her father's cooking. She offered her father many times that she would help, but she was always rejected with a smile, being told that he loved to cook and that his utmost happiness was to feed Tatsumi and his wife delicious food. A simple white chawan {rice bowl} and a cute light-peach chawan with rabbits drawn on it were filled with the rice, and Tatsumi nervously took them to the dining table. Taking them was

not much, as there was not much distance between the kitchen and the living room that doubled as the dining room. {the LD in LDK usually means one room with a dining section and a living section.} But it is possible to trip where there is nothing to trip on. Simply said, Tatsumi was a little bit on the clumsy side, and thus was always nervous when she held anything fragile. A tatami {straw mattress} was laid in one corner of the living room. She placed the two chawans on the table that was placed on the tatami. It was a small, short-legged table, similar to an old-fashioned tea-table, placed in a room that was not exactly traditional Japanese; but it matched the unusually clean and well-kept room of a young man who lived by himself. Speaking of which, Tatsumi remembered. Our house had a similar table. A pretty wooden dining table. The three of us always ate on it. I do not remember exactly when it disappeared, but at least until I was in elementary school, it was in the main house in Shinshuu. Oh yes. I think, towards the corner should be a scar from when I tripped and hit my head. Yes, a scar like this one. This table has it too. On close inspection, this looks very similar. The shape of the legs, the way the corners are rounded..... "That's real." Tatsumi opened her eyes with a start. Suddenly before her eyes sat Kyousuke, cross-legged, holding the chawan with the rabbits. "That's the table that was at your mother's house. She gave

it to me when you were still little, Tatsumi-chan." She looked at Kyousuke, wondering how he knew what she was just thinking. Tatsumi asked Kyousuke... by any chance... ".... did I fall asleep....?" Kyousuke answered with a smile, as he handed Tatsumi a lacquered bowl filled with clam miso soup. "Yup. You had your eyes closed while sitting upright." Figures, Tatsumi sighed to herself. It was one of Tatsumi's special talents to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere, and it was also a source of her problems. But it was Something that Nothing Can be Done About, something that she was not guilty of doing consciously. It was something necessary for Tatsumi, being born into the same occupation as her mother.

Tatsumi's mother did "Yumegari" as her living. But this occupation is not a common one. There was no exam for it, or something everyone knew, and most especially, not everyone can become one. 'Yumegari.' That signifies those who have the special ability to enter into others' dreams and be 'active' in that dream. Dreams are by nature belong to the individual. Any kind of dream unfolds within the mind of that individual, and can not be shared with a third party. But for a 'Yumegari' that is possible.

They enter the dreams of another person, observe all that is happening in the dreams, sometimes battle with the 'Enemy' that appears in the dream, and clear the obstacle in the 'dream' and the 'mind.' That is the job of a 'Yumegari.' To enter another's dream... it is an occupation that is unrealistic. There only exists a small number of 'Yumegari.' This is because those who hold this power that can only be labeled as strange are only born in one clan. Tatsumi, and Tatsumi's mother, are both from that clan. Living in the mountains of Shinshuu, the Houjyou clan. And within that, only a few possess the power to observe others' dreams, and enter them. But 'Yumegari' is not complete with only one person. To enter into another's dream is, of course, not easy. There are peaceful dreams, and there are horrible dreams that break one's heart. Sometimes the 'Yumegari' that entered a dream itself becomes engulfed in that dream, and never wakes from it. To help prevent that is a 'Yumemori' {Dream Watcher}. They watch over the dreams of the 'Yumegari,' and make sure that they do not fall into the edge of sleep, 'those who wake them.' 'Yumemori' cannot enter anyone's dream like 'Yumegari.' They can only share a dream with the 'Yumegari' that they were born to be destined with. Tatsumi's mother was a 'Yumegari.' Her father was her mother's only 'Yumemori.' Her mother died two months ago. And that night, Tatsumi met her mother in her dream.

There was a stranger, alongside her mother wearing her kimono as usual. Short hair. His right ear pierced. A man wearing round glasses. Mother told her the man's name: 'Kyousuke Kaga.' And Mother told her that this man was the 'Yumemori' that was born to be destined with Tatsumi. Depending only on the name and the phone number that Mother told her in her dreams, she searched for Kyousuke. When she met Kyousuke for the first time in a cafe in Tokyo, Tatsumi was sure that this was the man that her mother had told her of. He had the same face as the man in the dream. The man took off his round glasses, and said to her with a smile, "... just as beautiful as introduced by your mother in the dream."

From then on, Tatsumi lived with this man in the mansion. 'Yumegari' and 'Yumemori' dream the same dreams, so it is preferable that they are always together. They must understand each other, open each other's heart, and raise the percentage of falling in line with each other, or there is a chance that they both become unable to return from a dream. In reality there is an easier 'method,' but Tatsumi could not act upon it. Tatsumi did not understand why the man who is skillfully eating the burned fish in front of her, became a 'Yumemori' to

help her. Kyousuke's exact identity was also unknown. The Houjyou clan was currently investigating it, but there were no reports made to Tatsumi about it. 'Yumemori' and 'Yumegari' are both dangerous jobs. They are constantly in the face of dace. It is a job that is dangerous enough that a trite and cliched phrase like that is not far away from describing it. As a member of a Houjyou clan, Tatsumi was raised as the successor of her mother, who was a 'Yumegari.' So she did not have second thoughts even after her mother's death. She did not have any problems with becoming a 'Yumegari.' But why Kyousuke, who is not a member of the Houjyou clan, agreed to become a 'Yumemori' is unknown to Tatsumi. It is true that the money rewarded by the client to a 'Yumemori' was that of huge sum... ".... Kaga-san" "Kyousuke is fine, Tatsumi-chan." Kyousuke looks at Tatsumi with a friendly smile. Tatsumi stops the red chopsticks that she silently moved to her mouth, and continues her words. "Why is our tea-table is in Kyousuke-san's room?" Kyousuke replies with an expression saying 'oh, about that.' "I got it from your mother." "When?" "Around the time I was in junior high school." Tatsumi looks back at Kyousuke, squinting her light colored eyes.

"Kyousuke-san, you always lived in Tokyo" "Yeah. I was born in Tokyo and grew up in Tokyo." As he replies, Kyousuke makes Japanese tea. Kyousuke is also skillful in making any kind of tea. "When did you come to Shinshuu?" "I've never been to Shinshuu," Kyousuke continued as he poured the green tea in the teapot into two tea cups. "I want to go there once. It's where Tatsumi-chan was born." "So, did Mother send you this tea-table?" "No, I received it from you mother by hand." "But Mother never once left Shinshuu...." "She apparently never did." Tatsumi looks at Kyousuke as if trying to ask, 'then how?' Taking a sip from the tea that he made, Kyousuke smiled again and replied. "I received it in the dream."

------2-----The car was slowly moving towards the West. For Tatsumi, who was still not used to Tokyo, where the car was headed was unknown. But from the direction of the sun and the time of day, she assumed that it was going West. The clock inside the car showed exactly nine o'clock am. Today is Thursday. As she was leaving for school and reached for her bag, the phone rang. It was from the Houjyou family. It was a request for a job. It was inevitable that school

was put off. Instead of Tatsumi, who is clueless as to the geography of Tokyo, Kyousuke got the address of the job and such on the phone, and it was decided then to leave as soon as possible. It seemed to a job pressed for time. Not only is she clueless to the geography of Tokyo, Tatsumi is clueless to the geography of anyplace. She is what is commonly called a 'lost soul.' She tries very hard to memorize the streets, but she always makes some kind of mistake. And because of her stubbornness, she keeps on walking, so the damage widens. When she was little, her father would come looking for her. She still remembers her father hugging with a smile on his face, Tatsumi, who didn't even cry and just kept on walking to the destination that she had already past by. Her kind father, who would massage her legs which were tired from the walk said that hopefully someone would lead Tatsumi one day so she will never get lost. Her farther too is no longer in this world. "We're here." The car stopped with Kyousuke's voice. Tatsumi looks up from the front window of the car. It's an apartment. Ten rooms on each floor. It was an ordinary apartment with 6 floors without any sort of characteristic. "o...k...." Kyousuke took out the small paper from the inner pocket of the coat.

"...First Ave...Asagaya...yeah, it's here." He nods as if for assurance and gets out of the car. Tatsumi also opens the door and gets out of the car. "It's the fifth floor." As he looked up at the apartment, Kyousuke pointed out the room that seemed like the destination. Kyousuke only had the beige coat on top of his t-shirt. If he meets the client looking this way, he might mistake Kyousuke's profession. But that is the same with me, Tatsumi thought. A 'Yumegari' who appears in a school uniform must be rare. She thinks about what it looks like standing alongside of Kyousuke. A liberal profession and a female high school student or someone who is with the yakuza. In fact when Tatsumi was walking with Kyousuke she was stopped and was asked for IDs. "So, let's go." Kyousuke urged her. It doesn't matter what it looks like, she is just doing her job. She mumbles that in her mind as if to tell herself, and without letting Kyousuke notice, Tatsumi took a small breath and started to walk. When she was just about to enter the apartment, she looked up. A nameless flock of white birds were flying.

In the room there was only a bed placed in it. An open space with only a bed. For a moment Tatsumi thought that she had fallen asleep. It was hard to admit that the unrealistic room with only a queen size bed as reality. "Don't worry. It's not a dream. It's still reality." It's not as if he heard her thoughts, but Kyousuke nudges the shoulder from behind Tatsumi who couldn't say or move. It seems as it's not a dream. Then why is there only a bed placed here. In a living room that is about 20 jou {area of one tatami}, there is only a bed. And of course no one is here. The drapes are down, but aside from that there was no sense that someone lived here. Tatsumi moves her line of sight to see if someone is on the bed. She can't tell from the entrance of the room. Kyousuke stopped her from the back as she started to take a step. She looked up to Kyousuke wondering what. "......Stay here. I'll go check." He moves toward the bed. He still has his shoes on. It is not a very polite gesture, but Tatsumi understood that it is to runaway just incase something happens. Kyousuke slowly moved toward the bed creaking the floor board. He stopped right by it. ".....here." "What?" "Someone is here."

When she heard that, Tatsumi carefully moved toward it. On the bed that Kyousuke was looking down upon, there was indeed someone sleeping on it. It was a girl. The age was unknown. But it was probably between seven and ten years old. It wasn't clear because she had a comforter on top of her, but she seemed to be wearing white pajamas. A long haired, cute girls, whose well shaped face can be determined even from her sleeping face. She was sleeping with her arms folded across her chest. ".....She's.....not dead....is she..." "She's alive." Tatsumi points at the chest that rises and falls with her breathing. Kyousuke sighs as if to ponder what to do and crouched down where he was standing. "Is this....the 'dream' that we are supposed to enter?" "We were told that we would understand when we got there." "True, since the only person in this room it this girl, so I do understand once I got here...." Tatsumi also crouched down and gently placed her hands on the girl's chest. She is sleeping well. Well it would be hard to think that it is a normal sleep. It is better to think that it is an abnormal sleep, sleeping in a room with only a bed, and not waking up when they had arrived. "...a 8 year old girl. The pajama that she's wearing. The characteristics are exactly what we've been told from the Houjyou

Clan. This girl is the 'client' of this case." Tatsumi crosses his arm and nods to Tatsumi's voice. "This girl..." He looks at Tatsumi with an expression as if asking her what to do. "I'll enter her 'dream.'" "Is it safe?" Tatsumi nodded silently. It is strange that no one is around, but she must do her job. Actually it is easier to lie down beside her, but she couldn't get on the bed, so Tatsumi sat down and just let her upper body rest on the bed. She placed her right hand on the girl's crossed arms, closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths. 'Yumegari' can sleep where and whenever. That is the first criteria. Tatsumi, who sleeps when she doesn't even have to, can said as a natural regarding this point. "Is it safe?" She hears Kyousuke's voice from the back. She can feel her conscious sinking deeper. Someone grabs her right hand. It is Kyousuke. He is taking her pulse in order to synchronize with Tatsumi's 'dream.' "Be careful." She heard Kyousuke's voice far away. Her conscious sinks deeper and deeper. Sinking deeper in to the dark ocean.

A dark ocean.

No, this is inside of a goldfish bowl, I thought. A goldfish bowl. The reason I thought that it was dark around me was because it was night. It is dark at night. There are no stars out, nor the moon. Because I ate it all. The night before I ate the stars. Yesterday I ate the moon. I've decided that this time I'll eat the sun that looks like a ripe persimmon. It's good to stay night time. I want to be a goldfish inside of night. If I become a goldfish, no one will come to kill me. It is warm in the water. I hate the outside because it's cold. I want to be a goldfish. A goldfish with a red tail fin.

This is a dream, Tatsumi thought. It is a dream. It is not my dream. She told herself again that this is the dream of the girl who is sleeping in that apartment. If she doesn't recognize that this is a dream, she will be swept away.

If she doesn't keep the characteristic 'Tatsumi Houjyou' until the end, she will be taken in to the stranger's dream. A strong mind that will not get lost in anyone's dream is required to a 'Yumegari.' She looks around again once more. It is pitch black. There are no light rays but there are sounds or water in the distant. This seems to be the goldfish bowl inside the girl's dream. The girl in the room in the apartment was dreaming inside the goldfish bowl. The reason why it is pitch black is apparently because she has ate both the stars and the moon. She is going to eat the sun next. To hate the darkness for one thing, but a child who despises light is rare. Is there a reason behind it. Also why does she want to become a goldfish. She believes that if she becomes a goldfish, she would not get killed. Who is going to come and kill her. What does being killed mean. Tatsumi thought ,if it was a good idea to go under without any prior knowledge or data. A dream is very fragile. There are times that a person's feelings will appear in dreams as a form without even realizing it. Without ascertaining the cause and the reasons, dream cannot be hunted. She slowly surveys the surrounding. Like under water, she moves around the space as if she is swimming with resistance.

She heard water again in the distance. She moves toward the sound. A huge goldfish was swimming in the black space. It is big. It is a very big goldfish. A goldfish that is more than 10 meters long is swimming around the space that has nothing. A goldfish that has a red tailfin. She becomes afraid just from its sheer size. Fear, Tatsumi thought. Whose emotion is this, she thinks. When you enter someone else's dream, it cannot be determined whose emotion that one feels. Your own emotions and the emotions of the owner of the dream becomes the same. It seems necessary to become synchronous with another to enter the other's dream, but it does not mean that she does not think inside the dream. The job of the 'Yumegari' is to analyze the 'dream' and search for the scar. Once again she thinks. Who thought that this goldfish was scary.

A goldfish is cute. I love it. If I become a goldfish no one would scold me. No one would kill me. That's why I'm going to become a goldfish. I love it. I love it.

Tatsumi does not like goldfishes that much to say that. She does not like them to like a goldfish that is 10 meters long. She confirms that this feeling of fear is Tatsumi's own emotion. The girl who owns the dream seem to really think that goldfishes are cute. She does not know statistically there are a lot of girls who have affections for fishes, but it is probably not unique. However, to get killed is not a gentle matter. Who is the girl going to be killed by. And why if she becomes a goldfish, she will not be killed. First of all who is the girl, thinks Tatsumi. There are few that knows the existence of 'Yumegari.' A few in the government. Bureaucrats. A government related offices. The head of business groups. And the Imperial Household Agency. Only a handful of these know the existence of 'Yumegari.' To 'see' another's dream is to know the 'feelings.' Thoughts, personality, hidden emotions, everything will become known. 'Yumegari' has been used by politicians to spy on their opponents, and they have been called to cure 'mental illnesses.' Tatsumi, though not many, have entered into many different people's dreams. But it was the first time that a client was a girl this young. She thinks again, who is this girl.

And then. Tatsumi realized.

She does not understand anything. Inside Tatsumi, there is no knowledge about this girl. It was not possible. It is a job from the Houjyou Clan. They always tells Tatsumi the information that they have researched before the job. Then why is there no knowledge of the girl inside of Tatsumi. No. But before that. Tatsumi could not remember why she had went down inside of the girl. The girl who was sleeping alone in the room with only a bed. What about the girl did Tatsumi wanted to do to go inside of her. Why had Tatsumi had done a reckless thing like just going inside the dream. And why had not Kyousuke stopped her. Knowing that a failure in the job of a 'Yumegari' meant the loss of life. Knowing that if a 'Yumegari' died in the dream, the 'Yumemori' would also die. Maybe I have....

I.... I am a goldfish. A lonely goldfish. Mother had died. Leaving me. Father had died too. Leaving me. So I will die too.

I will be killed. I will be killed by the dream. The dream.

The dream. Have I been caught by a dream. Tatsumi squeezed her hands. She thinks where she had been caught by the dream as she squeezes her hands more. Tatsumi realized that she had made an irreversible error. She cheers up herself saying, no, it is better than not realizing it. And then she thinks, she must first wake up. There must be a 'rip in a dream' where she'll have a chance to wake up. She must first find that. When. Tatsumi thinks. When had she fallen asleep. The room with the bed. Was that also a dream.

Is it a dream. Is it my dream. Mother dying and Father dying, was it all a dream. It'll be good if it was a dream. It'll be good if it was a dream. Don't want to die. I don't want to die.

I don't want to be killed by the dream.

I will be killed by this girl's dream eventually, Tatsumi thought. Incredible oppression. Should it be called water pressure. There shouldn't be anything, but the back, the body feels heavy. It seems as if there are tons of water on top of her. She couldn't stand the weight on her, and she kneels where she is standing. She must search for it. The 'exit to the dream.' The 'rip' that would become an opportunity to exit. If she doesn't she'll be crushed by this girl's dream.

She'll be crushed. Something, that I can't see is pressing on me. It is painful. It's painful.

It's painful. Tatsumi couldn't stand it, and she fell where she was. The pressure becomes stronger. Her body creaks. The vision blurred because of the pressure. The big goldfish crosses the blurred line of site.

I can't close my eyes. I know it, but I can't keep my eyes open. It hurts. As she started to close her eyes. 'Something' sounded out in the distance. What is that sound. I don't know. But it is a high pitched sound as if calling me. Yes it is. I realize the weight in my right hand. There was a 'phone' in my right hand. The phone that is usually in the living room. It is the black cordless phone. I see, as I realized again. The ringing high pitched sound is the phone. I bring the phone up to my ears. But the high pitched sound doesn't stop. That's strange, I took the receiver. I mumble, hello. There is no response. I say, hello again with an assertive tone. And then. Deep inside my ear, 'someone's voice' rang.

"Wake up Tatsumi-chan! That is not your dream!"

Gasped, Tatsumi opened her eyes. The pressure recedes like a miracle.

Kyousuke's voice echoes inside her ear. Yes. This is not my dream, Tatsumi once again whispers in her mind. This is the dream of the girl, no maybe not the girl's but someone's dream. I am right now in someone else's dream. I cannot let my guard down. If I am careless death will surround me. Calm down, she scolds herself. Calm down and think when I entered the dream. When did I think that it was strange. The room with the bed. The room that does not have anything but the bed. That is strange. And also going into the dream without checking anything is strange. And the fact that Kyousuke did not stop her. If it is not the dream of the girl lying on the bed, then whose dream is this. "It is my dream." She heard someone's voice. She jerked her head up and saw a girl standing on top of the huge goldfish. She seems to be older than the girl who was sleeping on the bed. The white pajama is the same as the girl in that apartment was wearing. However she looked slightly older than the girl who was sleeping. "This is my dream." The girl answered with a smile. "Welcome, onee-chan."

She hold out her frail white hands. "....who are you?" Tatsumi asks cautiously. Just because she appeared in front of her, it does not mean that she is the owner of the dream. "I am a goldfish." The girl smiles laughingly. "I'm a goldfish. I'm going to become a goldfish and swim." "Are you the one who ate the moon and the stars?" She asks what she had understood from the dream. "Yes." The girl nodded light heartily. "I ate it. I like it more at night." "Why do you like night?" "Because I will get killed if it was bright." "Why?" "Because I will get killed." "By who?" "By the person who comes to kill me." A logic that is unique to dreams. Unless she asks something that is close to the truth, the girl will evade it. But even if Tatsumi wanted to find the core, she does not even know who this girl is. "Where is your mother, father?" The girl's smile fades all of a sudden. "....They are dead." "Did they die?" "They were killed."

"By who?" The girl started to cry looking down. She must have asked something that was close to her heart. Rain fell from the sky along with the girl's sobbing. The huge goldfish moves sadly. Tatsumi's body floats. She stopeed in front of the girl. Tatsumi also started to feel sad looking at the girl who was crying because she has lost her parents. When her mother and father died she had also cried when no one was around. Mother who was caught in the 'dream' and never awoken. And Father who also never came back. She cried telling herself until the sunrises. The image of the girl trembling as she cries overlaps her ownself at that time. She places her right hand on the girl's shoulder. She puts pressure on it trying to console her. "Onee-chan...." The girl looks up to Tatsumi with her tearful eyes. "Let's...." She places her hand on the right hand placed on her shoulder. "Become a goldfish together." Suddenly, water filled Tatsumi's lungs. She could not breath. It is hurting. Her body sinks deeper and deeper. It falls down inside the black ocean. The dark ocean.

No, this is inside a goldfish bowl, I thought. A goldfishbowl. The reason why I thought that it was dark was because it was night around me. It is dark at night. There are no stars out, nor the moon. Because I ate them all. The night before I ate the stars. Yesterday I ate the moon. I've decided that this time I'll eat the sun that looks like a ripe persimmon. It's good to stay night time. I want to be a goldfish inside of night. If I become a goldfish, no one will come to kill me. It is warm in the water. I hate the outside because it's cold. A goldfish. A goldfish with a red tailfin.

"Tatsumi-chan! Tatsumi-chan!" Holding the right hand, Kyousuke kept on calling Tatsumi's name. When they were about to enter the apartment, Tatsumi lost consiciousness. She seemed to have become synchrouns to someone's dream. No matter how many times he calls or shakes she does not open her

eyes and stays asleep. He doesn't know whose dream inside the apartment she became synchrous to but it seems to be a strong dream. Seconds before, he seem to be able to get her out of it, but she seemed to have been taken into a much more deep sleep. "Tatsumi-chan.....!" Holding Tatsumi's lifeless body, Kyousuke squeezed harder the right hand he was holding. "I'm going to wake you up. I promised to your mother." He squeezes the hand harder. "In the dream."