Harmonious Spring (和泉 Izumi) Part II: Dream Weaver

I open my eyes and am greeted with a. . . sort of. . . familiar sight. I'm in the cabin from my earlier daydream. "What in the. . ." This isn't a dream, is it? I know my daydreams are very realistic, but this doesn't feel like a dream. It lacks the haziness that my daydreams always have. Then that means. . . This is real? That's impossible. . . It must be something else. . . Can I blame the super deluxe choco banana sundae?

"Huh?" It's Izumi-chan! She's here with me?!? We're sitting on the couch in the cabin from my daydream?!? How?!? "We're in the cabin?" The. . . what. . . How would she know about my. . .

"Wait. . ." I notice Izumi-chan's hair. It's not tied up in her usual pigtails. I didn't realize her hair was so long. Just like the girl. . . in. . . my. . . daydream. . . "Izumi. . . chan?" I freeze.

Her eyes grow as wide as saucers. "You. . . You can see me?!?" I've never seen a smile that big on Izumi-chan's face before.

"Y. . . Yes?"

Suddenly she throws herself at me, wraps her arms around me and hugs me with strength I didn't think she was capable of. She's crying and laughing at the same time. "Is this real? Oh my god I'm so happy!"

Is this the same Izumi-chan? Where did my timid little rabbit go? "Wait. . . What's going on? How are you in my daydream?"

"Your daydream?" She pulls away a bit and stares at me. Oh my god she is way too close! I blush and pull back, breaking her hold on me.

"I'm confused. . . This was the daydream I had after school." I try pinching myself. Inflicting pain always wakes me from my daydreams no matter how intense. It's not working. "I'm not waking up."

"Ichika-san?" Well at least now she looks just as confused as I am. "You had this daydream too? So that was why you ordered the chilled cocoa marshmallow milkshake. . ."

"Too?" Wait. . . We both had the same daydream? That's not possible. . . That's when it hits me. The girl who was always in my daydreams. I could never see her clearly. I had no idea who she was. It couldn't be. . . "You were the girl in my daydreams?!?"

She smiles and nods energetically as she wipes away a tear. "No matter what I did you never recognized me. And then lately you even started calling me 'Yasu'."

Now I feel bad. "Well. . . You see. . . I've been hanging out with Yasu lately. . . So I just assumed. . ."

"No it's okay. I understand." She hung her head and frowned. "It made me sad, but when I realized you two were friends I understood." Then her bright and energetic smile returned. She really is like a completely different person. She has confidence. "But you can see me now! I'm so, so happy!"

She throws herself into my arms again. "I. . . Izumi-chan?!?" I try to pull away and fall back down onto the couch. She rests her head on my shoulder.

"Can we. . . just stay like this a little while?" She looks so content. I don't have it in me to refuse her.

"O. . . Okay. . ." I'm just lying there with my arms in the air like some toy robot that ran out of energy and fell over. What am I supposed to do in this situation? Why are we even here? I stare at her face. Her smile is really beautiful. This is relaxing now that I think about it. I let my arms slowly fall and rest on her back. Her hair is so long. So soft and smooth. I had no idea.

"I've always, always wanted to do this."

"I. . . Is that so?" My arms may be relaxed, but the rest of me sure as hell isn't. This is still really embarrassing regardless of whether it's real or not. She's so close. I can hear her heartbeat. Feel her breath.

"It's okay. Just relax. This is our own private little world." She nuzzles her face against my shoulder. "You're so warm. . ."

"Izumi-chan. . ."

"ichika-san. <3" She's being really affectionate. . . I'm not used to this at all. But I can feel myself slowly relaxing. I know I'm safe with her. This feels nice. I like it. It's quiet here. Peaceful.

But. . . If this is like my daydreams, then. . . These aren't our real bodies? Are we still in the ice cream parlor? With my head in her lap? That's embarrassing. . . Wouldn't someone notice and wake us up? None of this is making any sense. . .

"Say, Izumi-chan?"

"Yes, dear?" She looks up at me with sultry eyes.

"D. . ." My heart just skipped a beat. I'm starting to wonder if Izumi-chan becomes a succubus in her dreams. . . This girl is starting to lay it on pretty thick. And she looks really, really cute right now. . . I have to be careful not to get swept up in the moment. "Ah. . . I. . . I was j. . . just w. . . wondering, y'know? I. . . I wonder who's d. . . dream this is."

She gets up and sits on my stomach. This pose is kind of. . . suggestive. "Isn't it obvious?" Her smile now seems more than a little mischevious. "It's mine. <3"

"Your. . ." I think I understand what's going on here now. . . It's so obvious, how did I not notice it sooner? Oh, right. . . I was being. . . distracted. . . And I still am. . .

"Think about it." She starts caressing my stomach with her fingertips. This is getting bad. This is starting to go beyond suggestive. . . "You're still yourself, whereas I. . ." She tries to slide her hands under my shirt. My poor heart can't take much more of this. It's beating like crazy. It sounds like someone is beating a drum inside my chest. "I'm the confident and assertive girl I've always wanted to be." I grab onto her arms before her hands can get any farther. She really is a succubus!

Then she suddenly stopped and her expression changed. Gone was the mischievous, seductive grin. Replaced first with shock and then with anguish. "I'm sorry, Ichika-san. . ." She got off of me and sat down on the couch and looked away from me. "I didn't mean to come on so strong. . . I don't know what I was thinking. . ." Well I sure as hell do and it's not family friendly!

"I. . . It's okay. . ." I sit back up and fix my shirt. "Have you. . . calmed down?"

"Yes. . ." She's more subdued now, but even like this she's still so completely different from the real Izumi Kisaichi. "I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

She looks upset, but it doesn't look like she's about to cry. Is she perhaps. . . disgusted by what she was about to try and do to me? This is remorse, isn't it? She could be faking it. This could be dangerous. But. . .

I reach out and gently pull her towards me. She rests her head on my shoulder and I pet her long hair. "Eh? Why?" She half tries to pull away from me, but I keep gently holding her in place. "I almost did something to hurt you. Why?"

"But you didn't. Izumi-chan is a good girl. A kind and gentle girl." She buried her face in my shirt, gripping it tightly and started to shake. "It's okay. Let it out." She started to cry. "Good girl. When you've calmed down there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you from the start."

For the next few minutes she cried while I kept petting her hair. When she eventually stopped she released her vice like grip on my shirt and rested on my shoulder again. "Feeling better now?"

"I'm sorry. . ." I'll just take that as a "yes".

"This is actually all my fault."

"Wha?" She bolts upright and looks at me in shock. "How could you. . ."

I cut her off immediately. "I forced my way into your dream without your consent. In a way I feel like I'm the one who violated you."

"What are you saying?" Of course she's confused. Everything about this whole situation would confuse anyone, even me and I think I just figured everything out.

"It's related to why I try to make people hate me. It's also how Yasu found out my secrets. All of them."

"All of. . ."

"I have an ability. An ability that I can't control. That ability is why we are here right now." She seems calm and attentive now. This is what she wanted to know after all. My secrets. "I can hear the thoughts of people close to me. All except for two people."

"Yasuna-san and me. . ."

"That's right. All I hear from Yasu is like a gentle white noise. When we were alone on cleaning duty I, like an idiot, just blurted out the truth to her once I realized I couldn't hear her. From you I heard nothing at all. At least that's what I thought. . . I was mistaken."

"Ichika-san. . . You hear my dreams. . ." This was a look I wasn't expecting. Frankly speaking she seems. . . fascinated by this.

"Yes. But there's more."

"More?"

"When Yasu. . . touches me I can no longer hear other people's thoughts, but it appears that when we touch. . ."

There are those saucer eyes again. She understands completely. "You. . . enter my dreams. . ." She may look shocked, but she by no means looks upset by this turn of events. Actually, she seems kind of. . . happy.

"And that's why we're here."

She kept staring at me, deep in thought. "And about why you want people to hate you?"

Right. She never even had a clue about my ability, that must have come from outta nowhere for her. But she did know that I want people to hate me and that I didn't want to tell her why.

"I already mentioned I have no control over my ability. So I can hear everyone near me whether I want to or not. What I didn't mention was that it actually causes me pain."

She frowned. You see? This. This is why I didn't really want to tell you. I knew that telling you this would be painful for you. "When I become overwhelmed with other people's thoughts it can become too much and I can faint."

"ichika-san. . . You mean all of those times that you fainted. . ." She looks like she wants to cry again. You understand why I tried to keep this from you now, right? Right?

"Yes. It was because I was overwhelmed and my brain shut down. Like an overheating computer."

If this is too much for you to handle, I'm sorry. . . But after this happened I couldn't keep you in the dark anymore.

She hung her head and clenched her fists on her knees. "This is why you didn't want me to know."

"Yes."

"Honestly. . . I don't know what I want to do more. . . Slap you or kiss you. . ." Please. . . Do neither. . . Just remain calm. I've seen enough of your wild fantasies for one day.

"I'm sorry. . . I just didn't want to burden you. I also had no way of knowing if you'd even believe me. . . But. . . This experience has made me change my mind."

Her arms were once again around me. It was so quick I couldn't react. I just had to accept whatever was coming. Thankfully she chose a hug over a slap or a kiss.

"It's okay. I really am glad you told me, even if I'm angry about you hiding it from me. I'll keep your secrets, just like Yasuna-san does."

"Thank you." I gently hugged her back. Yasu was right.

"And we can continue on like we have been in class."

I wasn't expecting her to bring that up. It was what I wanted to talk with her about today. Before this happened. But I had already decided not to do that anymore. . . "But you. . ."

"No buts. It may not look like it but I'm stronger than you think. I can handle it. I mean, I have been handling it three or four times a week since April, right?" And no amount of words can possibly convey how sorry I am about that. . .

"You have a point. . . But I still don't like it."

"Then you'll just have to make it up to me afterwards, right?"

". . . Neither my purse nor my stomach can afford the super deluxe choco banana sundae every week."

"Silly. . . Maybe there is something you can do for me? Something only you can do."

"What's that?" I'm pretty sure I already know what's coming next. I mean here we are doing the one thing that only I can do for her.

"Can you, maybe. . . force your way into my dreams from time to time?" Okay now you're making me sound like the succubus! Well. . . I can enter her dreams. So it's not totally inaccurate.

"I'll think about it. . . By the way. . . I don't know how to get us out of here. . . I tried earlier and it failed."

"I think I just have to want to wake up."

"It might be a good idea to do that. We've been here so long I'm afraid we've already been sent to the hospital in the real world and admitted into an ICU." That horifying thought has entered my mind more than once since I woke up here.

"Just a few more minutes?"

". . . Sure."

We sat there for a little while longer. We didn't even say anything. We just stayed there, holding each other. And then everything became hazy and I gently started to lose consciousness. "Hey, Ichika-san? Actually, about you, I. . ."

_________________________

I almost forgot what position I was in in the real world when I entered Izumi-chan's dream. I awoke with my head is in her lap, right where I left it. Hers legs are soft. . .

This isn't the time for this! I get up quickly, banging the back of my head on the bottom of the table. I just can't win today, can I? I rub my tender noggin and hear the waitress calling out to us.

"Hey, are you two okay?" She looked worried. Well, we were unconscious. At least we were in the real world. I'm just glad I didn't wake up in a hospital bed. I see Izumi-chan slowly get up as well. I guess she also fell over when we entered that dream together.

"What happened?" It's just as well to play along and get some information about what was going on in the land of the living while we were off in our own little paradise.

"Well when I saw you go under the table I thought you two were about to. . . you know. . ." Oh god, seriously?!? "But when I saw the other girl go down too so I came running over to see what was going on and saw you were both passed out."

"H. . . How long w. . . ere we out?" There's the real Izumi-chan. Shy and flustered.

"Two, maybe three minutes."

Whaaaat? I looked at Izumi-chan. We were both stunned. We had to have been in there at least half an hour. I'm pretty sure the daydreams happened in real time, but these dreams don't?!?

"Geez I know you wanted to get your money's worth, but to eat so much that you'd pass out? Don't make me worry like that!"

"We're sorry." We both said in unison. Eh? Izumi-chan now too? Where's Suzuki-sensei when I need a good reaction?

"Are you two feeling okay now?" Your level of concern for your patrons is truly commendable.

"Y. . . yes. . ." That was Izumi-chan again.

"Just full. . ." I totally forgot what state my stomach was in when we suddenly departed. For some reason it's not as bad now. Maybe those precious few minutes of down time actually helped? "Just give us a few minutes and we should be ready to go."

"Okay. . . But I'm keeping an eye on you girls just in case."

"Thanks. . . and sorry."

With that she departed for the counter. I didn't see our classmates. I guess they left. I hope they didn't see us. Especially in that awkward position.

When the waitress was out of hearing range I immediately turned to Izumi-chan. She's blushing furiously now. "Soooo. . . Just how much do you remember?"

She buries her face in her hands. "A. . . All of it. . ."

"What a coincidence. So do I. I specifically remember two tiny hands aggressive exploring up. . ."

"AWAWAWAWAWA!!!" She's started wildly flailing her arms and shouting to get me to stop. Not so loud! The waitress will come back! "S. . . Some things are best forgotten."

"You mean you no longer want to molest me?"

"I do not!" Oh boy is she ever red now. Hide behind those hands all you want, it's useless. Well lets try this. . .

"Really?" I hang my head, pretend to look dejected and speak in a low, disappointed voice. "That's unfortunate. . ."

"Eh?" The shock caused her to temporarily come out from behind her fortress of fingers.

"That was a joke." I stuck my tongue out at her.

She's all red again, though this time I think half of it might actually be anger. "You meanie!"

I'm sorry. I'd give you a hug in apology but I fear for the safety of my dream chastity. Now there's something I never thought I'd ever say. . . er. . . think.

"Ichika-san?" She seems nervous again.

"Hmm?"

"W. . . What was the last thing y. . . you remember?"

"From the dream"? She nods. It was kind of hazy near the end. . . "Well we were sat there holding each other for a while. And then you called my name."

"A. . . And then?" She looks at me in anticipation, her little brown eyes shimmering. I don't know what she expects from me?

"And then I woke up." She seems half disappointed, half relieved. "Why, did I miss something?"

"Ah! Um! N. . . no! Nothing." Suspicious with a capital everything, but I'm not going to to push it.

We didn't stay long after that. I did manage to get Izumi-chan to agree to limit her attempts to talk to me at school to just two per week. Well. . . That will be a month away anyway. Due to my health I'll be spending the next week in the infirmary to write my exams, she wasn't too thrilled about that, and after that it's summer vacation.

We split up a little ways past the fountain. Apparently we live in different directions. I get the feeling that maybe I'm forgetting about something. . . It can't be important then.

_________________________

"Welcome home, Ichika! How was your date?" Mom has been really excited since I told her I was going out for ice cream with a friend. It's been five years after all. It must be a relief for her to hear that I spent time with someone other than a family member.

"D. . . It wasn't a date!" I recall the sensation of Izumi-chan resting in my arms, her weight pressing down on me, those little hands sliding under my shirt. . . It was almost something much more intense than a date wasn't it? My heart is beating like crazy again. "I. . . I ate too much. I'm gonna lie down."

"Okaaaay. I made soba. There's some in the fridge for you to have later."

"Okay, thanks!" I rush up the stairs, into my room and flop onto my bed. That was when I remembered what I'd forgotten. I forgot to check my messages.

I take out my phone. Three messages. Two from Yasu and one from Izumi-chan. Yasu is probably still worried about me. . .

How's everything going over there?

I haven't heard from you in a while. . . I hope everything is okay. I'm a little worried.

I appreciate your restraint in only sending the two messages.

I'm fine. I ate too much. I just got home and am lying down.

So nothing happened?

Well I found out that Izumi-chan is half succubus. Aside from that, no. ". . . You would never lie to me?" How am I supposed to explain any of this to Yasu. . . I hesitated. I know she's just asking about my condition. So I'll just put off the whole secret succubus thing for now.

There were never more than five customers at once. We almost got discovered by Kurata-san but I don't think she noticed us.

That's a relief. Are you free tomorrow? Want to go to the café with me?

Well I was planning on studying all day. But I guess an hour or two won't hurt. I'm kind of going to have to tell her I won't be in the class room next week too. It's best to say these things in person.

Sure. Meet at the fountain at 1100?

It's a date. <3

I blushed with that. There's that word again. Come to think of it, she said that last time too. I picture Yasu in the cabin with me, lying on my chest and looking up at me with sultry eyes. D. . . date. . . Argh, stop it me! Right. Izumi-chan's message.

Really, thank you so much for today, for everything. . . I hope we get to go again soon, darling. Ψ₍ᐢ｡ ˬ ｡ᐢ₎و

D. . . Darling? I break out into a cold sweat. And did that cute little bunny just gain a devil tail and pitchfork?!? I guess text messages are also kind of like a dream world. . . Honestly, is this some sort of contest between them to see who can make my heart explode first? Don't compete over something like that!