Chapter 4

“So… You went into the dream with your sister to find your Dreamstone…?

Hana nodded and looked at me. We sat on yet another train. I didn’t want to take any chances before she was ready. Having the whole compartment for ourselves was a luxury I could afford.

“Why…?”

I could see how uncomfortable she was talking about it. I didn’t care.

“I told you… I wanted to be like her… I wanted to protect everyone.”

She looked down.

“I…”

Her voice trailed off.

“Hana…”, I said softly.

She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“I..”

“No…you didn’t.” I shook my head. “You didn’t fail her..”

“I did!”, she cried. “It was my fault”

Her body shivered, and she started to sob. I sat down next to her and put my arm around her.

“You saved her, you protected her Dreamstone…”

She looked at me, and I could see hope in her eyes.

“R…really?”

“You did. She is useless to them without her stone. That's why they are after you…”

“Ame..”, she whispered and buried her face into my shoulder.

Fuck. How gullible she was. I didn’t lie to her, not really, but the fact that she would accept any story from me only to feel a bit better made me want to puke.

“We can find her and bring her back…”

“Really? How...?”

I ruffled her hair.

“I will help you...”

She pressed herself into me, searching for warmth and comfort.

“Thank you, Ame”, she whispered.

It took all my self-control not to burst into tears and believe that she actually cared… Fuck, it was difficult. But I didn’t have time for this crap now. Even on the train, we were not safe from them. It would be difficult to teach her anything while we were travelling. We needed some quiet place… But leaving the train would mean taking a risk I wasn’t sure I was ready to take.

Fuck, I needed a plan… We could try to hide in the countryside; fewer people around normally meant fewer Nightmares trying to feed on their fear, but.. They would be attracted to her stone no matter where we are… They needed it to turn her sister into one of them. I knew they would not give up on such a chance.

Fuck. She stirred in her seat, and I looked at her only to be met by her soft eyes looking into mine. She smiled.

“Get some sleep, I will keep the nightmares at bay.”, she said.

I frowned.

“How…?”

She took my hand and held it in hers.

“In the same way as my sister kept me safe before she became a mahou shoujo”

She put my hand on her chest.

“I will take care of you.”

Fuck… She was right, it would work, but… When she left me, I would be dead…

                                 —--------------------------------------------------

Holding back against my stupid, naive side took so much effort that there was no way I could relax. I just sat there with closed eyes, pretending to be asleep. Fuck. It didn’t work. I stirred in my seat so many times that she finally asked,

“Are you okay, Ame?”

I looked away.

“I am fine…”

She looked at me.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded.

“Just thinking how to find your sister.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. I tried to figure out what to do…

“Will you look for her in the dream?”

I shook my head and looked away. Fuck. Why was going with this crap so difficult?

“My stone is fucked.”

She took my hand and looked at me.

“Ame…”

I frowned and resisted the urge to pull it away.

“Hana, don’t worry, you also have a stone…”

“Me…?”

I squeezed her hand.

“Yes, she gave it to you for a reason…”

She looked down and sighed.

“But…”

“It didn’t work last time because you believed their lies…”, I said and tried to smile.

Hesitantly, she pulled out her pendant and looked at me.

“Shall…shall I try now?”

“Not here…”

I needed more time to prepare her. Using the stone wasn’t difficult, but every time she failed to transform, her confidence would be shattered. I didn’t dare to take the risk. I didn’t plan to die anytime soon.

“Where shall I try then…?”

She looked at me with puppy eyes, eager to follow me blindly and do anything I asked her to. Fuck. I shouldn’t have gotten involved in this shit in the first place, but it was too late now.

“We need to find some quiet place”, I said quietly and looked through the window.

As soon as we could, before I would start to believe in all this crap and get myself killed. She smiled and leaned into me.

“Quiet place…hm? A small cabin in the mountains?”, she suggested. “My sister told me that wilderness can protect you from the Nightmares…”

I frowned. Her sister must be clueless if she took her into the dream to let her find her Dreamstone. Shit didn’t work like that. She should have known better than reading bullshit on Reddit and doing as it says gets you killed.

But what other choice did I have… Fuck.