The Named [5/?]
Fate, it seemed had plans other than a peaceful night of sleep for him. He woke covered in sweat yet again. Though his room wasn't cold, his body shivered.
Though he wrapped his blanket around him, his body didn't warm.
It was disturbing. It was so disturbing. His thoughts were flying so fast that he couldn't focus on any one in particular.
Tezuka stood in his dark room, his blankets falling and pooling around his feet. Something had to be done about this, he decided. It was becoming a distraction. He couldn't sleep at night. He couldn't focus during the day. It was wearing him down.
The question was: what was he going to do about it? How could he improve this situation any?
A familiar chirping sound brought his attention to his bedside table. It was the low battery noise on his phone. He'd forgotten to charge it before he went to bed.
Reaching for it without even thinking, Tezuka dialed a number he knew well. The other end was picked up almost immediately.
"Meet me at the clubhouse as soon as possible."
"Shall I call the others?" Inui deep voice asked on the other end. It didn't sound like he'd been woken at all.
"Use your own discretion." With that, he hung up. He wasn't sure how everyone getting together would help, but it certainly couldn't hurt to get another's opinion at this point. Hadn't Inui said that the others had been following something like this? That everyone had been having similar problems?
He grabbed a pair of plain blue jeans from his drawers and a dark shirt. He felt guilty about even contemplating what they were planning, but they needed somewhere to talk without waking family members. The only place they would all fit without rousing suspicion was the tennis club's clubhouse.
He made sure to grab his keys and shook his head.
Something would get done.
Sneaking out of his house presented a challenge, both physically and morally. In all his 18 years, Tezuka had never once snuck out. He knew that most guys his age had done it at least once in their lives, but he was not one of them. It was a silly thing to do.
If one wanted to go somewhere, they should just get permission. Besides, night time was for sleeping, not partying with one's friends.
Still, this was something he needed to do. He was tired of sleepless nights. Perhaps, with all of their heads put together, they could come up with a solution for everyone.
This was why he, Tezuka Kunimitsu, grabbed his bike at one o'clock in the morning and left for his school grounds without telling anyone where he had gone. He only felt mildly guilty over this.
There were no bicycles out front when he arrives, but he didn't expect there to be. He assumed that someone would be smart enough to tell the others to bring them around back just in case someone should walk by and wonder why students were at the school at this time of night. He didn't need for them to get arrested over this.
The gate was already unlocked, the padlock was placed just so, so that it looked as if it were still clicked shut. From what he could see, there were no lights o in side the clubroom, but he assumed they'd blocked the windows with something. It would be silly for them to all sit around in the dark.
He made sure to put the padlock back to how he found it.
After rapping a few times on the door, he turned the knob to find it unlocked. Nodding to his team, he closed and turned the lock on the knob. He was unsurprised to see that Inui had invited everyone over. He was slightly surprised to see that everyone had agreed to come, but only slightly.
"Good. Now that Tezuka is here, we can begin." Inui cleared his throat and point to the whiteboard that they were all seated in front of. "Let's review what we already know. We know that we've all been having shared dreams. Correct?"
After a few nods and words of agreement, he continued. "We know that these dreams differ slightly. Some of us, for instance, have dreamt of being in what appears to be an apartment." He gestured towards Kaidoh and a Momo-Ryoma pair who seemed to be holding each other up where they sat. "While some of us have dreamt of being in what appears to be a hospital." He gestured towards himself and Fuji. "Some of us have had stranger, more unexplainable dreams." He gestured towards Oishi and Eiji (who also seemed to be holding each other up) "And some of us," he gestured towards Tezuka and Taka-san, "have had dreams that they can't remember, but wake up feeling afraid. Is that all correct?"
After more nods, words of agreement, and one "Just get on with it, already," he continued once again. "What else have we learned about these dreams?"
"Ooh!" Eiji raised his hand.
"We're not in class, Eiji," Oishi gently reminded him and pushed the boy's hand down.
"Oishi and I had the same exact dream, but in opposite!"
Inui raised a brow at this. "Explain."
"Well, I dreamed that I was on this weird stage thing and I was watching this creepy creepy guy smile at another guy. And that other guy turned around to run away and I saw it was Oishi!"
"In my dream, I was the one being smiled at, and it was Eiji that I almost ran into."
"Interesting." Inui quickly jotted down the information. "Do you remember anything else? Did he say anything?"
Oishi shook his head. "I just remember the smile."
Eiji gave him a supporting pat on the back and shuddered. "It was creepy, Inui. Majorly creepy."
Oishi smiled gratefully in response to the support. He mouthed a silent 'thank you,' and put his full attention back on the glasses-wearing teen in front of them.
"There is a possibility," Inui started, "that all of our dreams are connected."
This surprised everyone, though it probably shouldn't have. It should have been the first conclusion when everyone had begun having shared dreams, yet, no-one had thought of it.
“What are you saying, Inui?” Tezuka asked, frustrated that his tired brain even formed such a question.
“I’m saying that I do not think it is merely a coincidence that we are all having these dreams,” Inui stated. “As I said earlier, both Fuji and I have dreamt of a hospital. Eiji and Oishi had the same dream from different points of view. Don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence?”
Tezuka eventually nodded. What Inui said made sense.
“But what does it all mean?” Eiji whined in a confused tone.
Oishi placed a hand on his shoulder. “Let him get to it, Eiji.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure what it means.” A frown creased the skin between his brows. A matching frown made itself apparent on Tezuka’s face. It was never a good thing when Inui wasn’t sure of what was going on.
“’Scuse me.”
A group of heads turned to look at the person who had just spoken. One Echizen Ryoma raised his hand where he sat.
“I can control my actions in the dreams.”
“Echizen,” Tezuka started as the rest of the room tried to control their surprise. “Why did you not mention this earlier?”
Ryoma shrugged. “It just happened last night. And I wasn’t sure at first.”
“Since when have you been sure?” Inui asked even as he wrote the new information on the board.
“Since I chose to write a message to some girl.”
“Eh?! O-chibi-chan’s already writing love letters to dream people?!” Eiji voiced his shock in a volume that Tezuka was surprised the sleepy redhead still had in him.
The teased boy simply rolled his eyes. “She was the first one I had contact with. That’s all.”
“Hmm…. O-chibi’s got a girlfriend already, huh?”
Inui cleared his throat and Eiji quickly quieted. “If Echizen if able to control his actions in his dreams, then the rest of us should be able to as well. Did you do anything special?”
Ryoma shrugged again. “Not really. I just thought about it and…did it, I guess.”
“I see. Then the next time one of us has a dream like this, we’ll try to control our actions and report back. Understood?”
“But Inui,” Oishi interrupted the affirming choir. “What does it mean if we’re able to control our dream selves?”
Tezuka watched Inui shake his head with a sense of dread. He’d feared this. He’d feared Inui not knowing what was going on. He feared himself not knowing, but that, he was used to. For all of them to not know, to not understand…it was scary.
“What else do we know?”
“Numbers,” someone said. Tezuka wasn’t sure who it was until Fuji raised his hand. “We’re all referred to by code numbers, right?”
“That’s correct. Why don’t we write down whose numbers we have?” Inui began to do so, taking note of the speaking person and their number on the board.
“Ne,” Eiji started. “Do you think this is, like, a cool secret agent world or something?”
“Secret agents?” Momo asked. “That sounds cool!”
“Right?!”
“Momoshiro. Kikumaru.” Tezuka tired of the boys’ antics. “Pay attention, or run laps to refocus yourself.”
Inui cleared his throat once again. “We have everyone down, yes?”
“Number 14 was what the girl went by,” Ryoma mentioned off-handedly. “If you want to put her up there.”
Inui nodded. “Good idea. Has anyone else encountered any recurring characters?”
At the same time, Eiji and Oishi said, “The creepy smiler,” and “The man with the smile.”
Inui smirked, though Tezuka wasn’t sure why. Perhaps in amusement? And wrote the character on the board.
"Any other characters?" He glanced around the room at the blank expressions and occasional shaking heads and nodded.
"Inui," Fuji spoke up. "Did you encounter any doctors or nurses at the hospital?"
"Once. He addressed me by a number, but I have not seen him since."
Fuji nodded and Tezuka watched Inui write the person down anyway. It might be good if they went ahead and kept track of everyone they spoke to or were spoken to by, he thought.
He really wished he could remember what went on in his own dreams so that he could contribute something. It was extremely irritating to him to sit there and listen to everyone suggesting and discussing things, and not be able to add anything.
He glanced over at Kawamura Takashi who seemed to be in the same predicament as himself.
"Kawamura," the other boy looked at him as he spoke. "You don't remember anything, either?"
For some reason, the shaking head gave him a sense of relief. Perhaps he wasn't as strange as he was thinking if he wasn't the only one who had zero recollection of what wen on in their head while they slept.
He continued to keep an eye on things as details were added. Something that looked not unlike a palm pilot was sketched onto the white surface again and Momoshiro eagerly talked at leength about the things he'd seen it do. Ryoma added a few details here and there as well.
A mention of a "facility" was brought up and listed among the details already there. Nothing jogged a memory.
His eyebrows furrowed. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to quesiton Kawamura since they were both having difficulties.
He turned, once again, to his long-time friend and teammate. Only recently, he'd quit tennis to train as a sushi chef under his father's tutelage, but they still kept in touch. They'd known each other too long; it would be odd For Tezuka to simply not have him in his life anymore.
"Kawamura, may I ask you about your dreams?"
The question seemed to surprise him. "S-sure. I guess that's okay."
"You remember nothing?"
"No," came the answer. "I wake up shaking sometimes."
Tezuka paused a moment before nodding. "How did Inui know about your dreams?"
This question also seemed to surprise him. Brown eyes widened even further. "I called Fuji when they first happened. Fuji's been a great help through all of this. I'm glad he's been there."
Tezuka's hazel eyes glanced over to Fuji--who gave him a little wave when he saw him looking--and back at Kawamura. They'd always been close.
"I see."
They sat in silence for a long time, listening to friends and teammates talk about things they didn't understand. Tezuka wasn't completely unused to it, though. He was always the slow-moving one in the fast-paced world. He had a feeling that Kawamura was the same, and wondered briefly why they weren't better friends.
Before they knew it, time had flown by them, leaving them sitting in its wake. The sky had begun to lighten outside; the very barest of the sun's rays fighting their way into the small clubhouse.
"It's five am," Inui annoucned as he looked at his watch. In the aftermath of the discussion, they'd lost Momoshiro, Ryoma, and the Golden Pair to the arms of sleep. Kaidoh seemed to be handling it well until Tezuka looked closer and noticed that he was sleeping sitting up, his arms crossed over his middle. Only he, Fuji, Inui, and Kawamura had survived the night.
It was unfortunate that school would begin soon. They couldn't afford to sleep; they had morning practice and classes tog et through yet.
"Alright, everyone!" Tezuka's projected voice was loud in the crowded room. "To the showers!"
At once, Oishi, and Kaidoh were up, with Oishi trying desperately to shake Eiji awake. Kaidoh didn't bother being so gentle. Instead, he gave Momoshiro a swift kick to the shin and barked for him to get up. Tezuka didn't exactly approve, but he wasn't going to step in, either. The rivalry between the two was mildly frustrating to deal with at best. At worst, it was a painful migraine.
Sleepy tennis players shambled to toward the showers with the promise of cold water to help them awaken. Ryoma chose to stay behind and sleep, but that was resolved by Momo giving him the same gentle awakening that he, himself, had received.
Tezuka didn't pay attention to the response. He was already heading for the cold water that awaited him. He felt awake, but he also felt his body beginning to slow down. If he didn't do something to jolt it now, he wouldn't be in any shape to survive the day.
Half-asleep bodies surrounded him as he stripped and entered the spray. Eiji looked like he was sleeping against the shower wall. As Tezuka walked by, Fuji gave the redhead a quick nudge. Presumably to wake him.
"I'm fine, I'm awake, I'm up!" He shouted too loudly, too quickly.
The cool liquid did, indeed, wake him. For not the first time in his life, he was glad that Inui was crazily prepared for everything. The tall teen had spare bottles of shampoo and shower gel in his cubby that he gladly lent out to his friends. Tezuka didn't have the energy to question what was actually in the bottles as they were clear and non-descript; lacking any sort of label at all. He simply focused on cleaning himself and tried hard to ignore the faint seaweed smell that permeated the water.
As he turned off the spray where he stood, he actually contemplated calling off morning practice for what was probably the first time since they were fourteen. He quickly decided against this, however. If they slacked off this morning, they'd most likely fall asleep and not be alert for classes. The exercise would wake them up, he decided, and not allow them enough time to feel the tiredness of their bodies before classes.
"I don't want to go to class," Tezuka overheard from someone who quickly stopped talking when his head turned toward the sound. It sounded suspiciously like Momoshiro, but Tezuka let it slide. So long as he didn't actually skip class, it was none of Tezuka's business what he thought or how he felt.
He went to get dressed before realizing that he didn't have his school uniform with. He kept his tracksuit at the school, so he had that for practice, but not his gakuran. He suspected that nobody else thought to bring theirs either. Tezuka certainly hadn't expected their discussion to last through the night.
He sighed. This was troublesome. "Those who need their school uniforms," he announced loud enough to be heard over the water, "may go get them before practice."
He put his tracksuit on to go home in. Maybe he'd run a bit on his way there. The cooling air on his chilled skin would give him an extra boost. And hopefully not a cold.
"However, I expect you all back here by," he checked his watch, "6:30. Those who don't show up can expect to run 50 laps around the grounds tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's the weekend, Tezuka!" The voice sounded like Eiji's.
"Then whenever we return." He didn't wait for a response. He walked out of the clubhouse and grabbed his bike along the way, though he didn't use it.
He had to admit: by the time he made it back to his house, he was severely tempted to lie on his bed and go to sleep. He wouldn't, however. If even the captain didn't show up for practice, what sort of shape would their team be in?
He did not change into his uniform. He folded it gently and packed it into a spare duffel bag he had lying around. There wasn't much point in changing into it only to change back into sports gear once he got to school.
Creeping downstairs like a guilty thief, he made a sharp turn for their back door and, thinking better of it, left a quick note for his mother that he'd left early before creeping out the back door of their house. He thought for a moment that he'd heard his name, but it didn't repeat when he paused, so he decided he must have been hearing things. It was early, and he was most definitely exhausted. It was entirely possible.
He snuck around the house to leave through the gate and, after missing the first attempt at mounting his bike, rode off towards the school building.
The amount of effort required to sneak out was ridiculous, he concluded. Why anyone would go to such lengths just to have fun was absurd. He had enough trouble doing it when it was necessary.
~*~
School had been hell. He wasn't quite sure how he'd survived the day without passing out, but he was sure, by the time he made it to afternoon practice, that he couldn't stand another moment on his feet. It took some digging deep down inside of him to scrounge up enough energy to don his tracksuit and head to the courts. Judging by the state of the regulars, they weren't faring much better. A compassionate note hitting him, he decided to do something different this practice and called the freshmen onto the field.
"I want to see practice matches between you all. Regulars, I expect you to take notes and tutor your underclassmen."
The relief from his teammates was palpable. No, they wouldn't survive laps or matches, but helping the younger students to perfect their swings and techniques, they could do. Not only would it give the regulars a nice break, but it would also give the freshmen valuable advice and experience.
Tezuka watched on as the younger boys were helped with everything as trivial as proper grip to as complex as perfecting certain techniques. He decided that--other than overseeing things like he normally did--his instruction really wasn't needed today (though he should probably get in there and help out as well).
Things went smoothly. He ended practice a little earlier than normal today, and hoped that nobody would notice how tired he and the rest of the regulars seemed. A few of them looked like they were on the verge of falling over where they stood.
He was feeling pretty good about how things were progressing. So good that he forgot about study group that night.
"I noticed that you didn't bring a change of clothes for tonight, Tezuka," a deep voice said behind him.
Surprised eyes met glasses-covered ones of a tall brunet teen. He, in fact, hadn't brought a change of clothes. Not only because he forgot about study group, but because he hadn't realized that they were sleeping over this time. When had that been decided?
As if on cue, Fuji appeared by his side. "Inui and I decided that it might be interesting to try sleeping together."
Tezuka ignored the obvious innuendo and nodded. "It would have been nice to get some advance notice."
Inui, this time, replied, "I apologize. It was last minute. I thought that Fuji had told you."
The look on Fuji's face said that he felt no guilt at all for not passing on the information. Tezuka sighed. Fuji, though a friend of his, could be very much an irritant to deal with.
"He didn't."
"Shall we walk with you?" Fuji asked.
Tezuka truly wasn't sure that he wanted accompaniment, but he nodded anyway. "That's fine."
Together, they changed from their tracksuits back into their school uniforms, walked tot eh front of the building, and grabbed their bikes. Tezuka's house wasn't far from the school, and Inui's wasn't far from Tezuka's. It wouldn't be too far out of their way to walk him home and get his things. Though he suspected that they probably had ulterior motives for walking with him.
The trip did not take long. He parked his bike in its spot and gestured for the others to follow his lead. Once inside, he removed his shoes, called out that he was home, and took the stairs up to his room where he gathered the things he'd need for the afternoon and evening.
All in all, it took about 15 minutes to get together and pack everything. Inui used this time to poke about his room while Fuji sat, smiling lightly and waiting patiently. It always surprised him how interested in his room they were. Although they'd been in his room countless times since starting the study group, Inui never failed to find something he hadn't seen before and ask questions about it; and Fuji never failed to look around when he thought Tezuka wasn't paying attention.
It was both adorable and irritating--not that he'd ever admit either aloud.
"Shall we go?"
It was only about 15 minutes by foot to Inui's house from Tezuka's. By bike, it was even faster.
Tezuka was, frankly, surprised that he hadn't been assaulted with questions from his mother when they left the house. She'd just given them a quick "be safe." Unfortunately, they didn't have the same luxury at Inui's house. His mother always fussed over his friends. She made sure that her guests felt at home. It was sweet, but smothering at times.
Inui's house was a simple two-story one. It was quite large for their three-person family, but then Tezuka wasn't one to judge. His house was large for its number of occupants, too.
Once in Inui's room at the top of the stairs, they unloaded their bags and got straight to work. It was always quiet when the three of them had books open in front of them.
The dyanamics in Inui's room were different from how they were at Tezuka's. Inui, of course, took his desk to study at. Tezuka found it uncomfortable to be on another male's bed, so he took the floor. Fuji, for some reason, only ever took the bed at his own house, so he was on the floor with Tezuka. Inui's bed had become a makeshift table for their bags, supplies, and extra books.
The space situation on the floor was a little awkward with Fuji sprawled out on his stomach, but they managed well. Fuji, like Eiji, never seemed bothered by sharing his personal space. Tezuka was the exact opposite, but never bothered protesting it. It never stopped the redhead and he suspected that it would only encourage Fuji to be even bolder. So Tezuka put up with it.
They worked quickly through their material. The only interruptions were the occasional voiced question and the following answer. Time didn't just fly, it sped by in Italian sports cars.
Inui's mother came up before long to let them know that dinner was ready. Baths followed dinner, and a little more studying followed the now-relaxed students. Tezuka was surprised at how much they'd accomplished on so little sleep.
It was bound to catch up with them at some point, however. This point came when Fuji let the first yawn slip. Suddenly, it felt like the entire day's exhausted came and hit him all at once. When it became an effort to even turn the page, Tezuka knew it was time to stop.
"I strongly suggest sleep now," Inui spoke up. "It wouldn't be healthy to push our bodies any further."
Tezuka adamantly agreed, but only nodded.
"What are the sleeping arrangements, Inui?" Fuji asked with a glance around the room.
It was a good question. Tezuka had never slept over the tall brunet's house before, but his room wasn't exactly huge. Adequate, but not huge.
"We have spare futons," came the response. He stood to clear the bags away from his bed and pointed towards his closet. "One in there. There are more in the hall closet."
Fuji and Tezuka nodded in understanding. Inui would, of course, take his own bed. Fuji and Tezuka would sleep on futons on the floor.
"Of course," Inui continued with his back to them, "we have larger futons that the two of you could share...."
Something about his tone of voice said that Inui was probably teasing them, but Tezuka didn't quite catch on to what he was getting at. "Whatever would be more convenient is fine."
"My, Tezuka. Are you not going to buy me dinner first?"
Tezuka frowned. As productive as these sessions were, there was always what he called the "annoyance factor." Inui and Fuji were both types who enjoyed saying things to rile people up. Inui, to collect data on how the other people reacted, and Fuji, simply because he found it enjoyable. Inui probably enjoyed it on some level, though.
He wasn't sure what sort of answer he could give that wouldn't further encourage the teasing, so he didn't respond. "I'll get the futon from the hall closet."
He shook his head at the sound of light laughter and chuckles that were heard as soon as he left the room. Yes, as productive as these sessions were, the annoyance factor was enough to put him off from spending any sort of time with the two of them. Separately, they weren't horrible, but together? It was a nightmare for the stoic brown-haired boy.
Fuji had set up the futon in Inui's room by the time Tezuka pulled down the one from the hall closet. Together, they worked to spread it out and position the two so that there was walking room between them, and neither overlapped the other.
Mentally, he went over his checklist of things he'd needed to do before bed. He knew that as soon as his body lay down, it wouldn't want to get back up for anything.
He couldn't think of anything else he needed to do. Other than write in his journal, that was. But, honestly, he was too tired to even do that. He'd do an entry in the morning. It was irresponsible to stray from his routine, he knew, but every muscle in his body cried for rest right now. He could ignore it no longer.
"Tonight," Inui spoke as he put the last bag on the floor, "we should try to control our dream selves."
It was a helpful reminder. Something he was surprised he forgot about. If he were to be honest with himself, though, Tezuka hoped for no dreams at all. He just wanted some nice, long sleep. His body needed desperately to relax.
"Ah, that's right," Fuji said beside him, already curled into the warmth of the futon. "Thank you for reminding us."
Tezuka nodded in agreement and slid under his own covers. They were as warm as they looked. Immediately, he felt his muscles start to relax and, as soon as Inui flipped the switch and turned off his lamp, his eyes shut before his head even hit the pillow. He wondered if he fell asleep before his head hit.
Tezuka, unfortunately, did not get his wish. For the first time since this whole dream nonsense had started, Tezuka dreamt.
He was walking down a long hallway. The sterile whiteness of everything around him was blinding. There were no doors, and no visual landmarks. It was not unlike being in a snowstorm. He was sure that he'd have gone blind if he hadn't been so focused on watching his feet move. Left foot, then right foot, then left again. He stared down at the brown shoes as he shuffled down the hall. They were the only source of color. Even his robes were white.
He wondered where this hall led. There was no obvious destination. In fact, the longer that he walked, the farther away the end of the hall appeared. It was frustrating. He couldn't figure out where he was, nor could he figure out why he was there. He thought that maybe this was the hospital that was discussed, but, if so, why would they have a never-ending corridor?
He chanced a glance over his shoulder, but the other end of the hall appeared just as far away. It seemed like he was perpetually in the middle. Neither end got closer or farther. Then, just as he had resigned to this continuous walk, something stood out from all the white around him. He couldn't see what it was from this distance, but he hurried his steps. He needed to reach that piece of color.
It felt like it took him hours to get to. It was a test of his will, he decided. Had he been any less stubborn, he might have given up a long time ago.
Finally, the gods decided to smile upon him and present him with the single splash of color not on his person: an orange button. It was rectangular in shape and had no writing. It was set into the wall at about chest height. There was no metal plate around it. There were no LED lights inside of it; no signs around it. It was just a plain orange button sitting there on the wall.
The button tempted him. He wasn't sure how long he stood there staring at that obnoxiously-colored thing, trying to decide. His only other option, though, was to continue down the hall. Alternatively, he could turn around and try to walk back to.... To where? He hadn't entered the hall from a door or anything. He'd entered the dream already in the hall.
With a slight lifting of his shoulders, he decided to indulge in a bit of curiosity and push the button. It was just a dream, after all. What was the worst that could happen?
--
Inui Sadaharu walked down a long white hallway. He was not disoriented, but he was irritated by all the homogeny. Nothing stood out from anything else. He'd been walking for what felt like days before he finally reached something that stood out. An orange button glared at him from the wall, tempting him to push it.
He walked past it a few steps before turning to look back. It hadn't gotten too far away. He couldn't see an exit to this hall. There was no better option that to push it. And so he did.
--
Kikumaru Eiji pushed it as soon as he came upon it. No hesitation occurred on his part. His feet were tired, and his body ached. He wanted to get out of here right now. Anything that happened could be better than more walking, right?
--
Oishi Shuuichiro pushed it because he saw no better option. He was sick of being stuck in this prison.
--
Echizen Ryoma pushed it because, hey, what was the worst that could happen?
--
Kawamura Takashi pushed it because, although he was eager to finally be sharing in what he hoped were the dreams that everyone else was having, he was getting really sick of this similar landscape. Even if it sent him on to more walking, he was okay with it. So long as he wasn't stuck in that bland whiteness, anything was okay.
--
Fuji Syuusuke pushed it because it stood out and, therefore, interested him. He welcomed anything to try and challenge him.
--
Momoshiro Takeshi pushed it because he was sick of walking.
--
Kaidoh Kaoru did not push it immediately. He saw the walking as comforting and a good training exercise. He was the only one to find the end of the hallway: a blank wall. It took him twice as long to get to the button, but, once he did, he realized it was in the dead center of the hall. No matter where you'd entered, you'd encounter the button at the same point. It was then that he pushed it.
--
Fuji woke with a start. Immediately upon pushing the button, he was thrown from his sleep. On the heels of his shock was annoyance. He'd wanted to know what the button did!
He sighed and rolled onto his side, momentarily forgetting where he was sleeping tonight. At first, he thought he was at Eiji's--the only other place he slept with regularity--but that didn't make sense. He and Eiji had always shared Eiji's bed whenever Fuji slept over.
Moonlight streamed in from under the blinds on the windows in the room. It was in this light that he met startled hazel eyes on a futon next to his. They lay there, frozen, for a moment longer than was necessary for their brains to register what it was seeing.
Right. That was Tezuka, and the two of them were on Inui's bedroom floor.
"From the sounds of it," came a whisper somewhere on the other side of the room, "I'm not the only person awake."
Fuji laughed lightly. "You're not. Couldn't you sleep?"
"I slept," Inui corrected. "I woke from my dream early."
"As did I." He realized awkwardly that he still held Tezuka's gaze. "And you, Tezuka?"
"I remember it."
Icy blue eyes widened in shock. "You do? That's great, isn't it?"
In the sparse moonlight, he could make out the slightest of nods. "Yes."
"Should we discuss?" Inui's deep voice asked.
"I think so," Fuji said. "Did anyone control their dream selves?"
"I pushed a button of my own free will," Tezuka's smooth voice said beside him and Fuji started.
"A button? Was it orange?" His voice betrayed his excitement. What, exactly, he was excited about, he wasn't sure.
"And it was in the middle of a long white hall," Inui's voice answered. It was not a statement that required a confirming answer; it was stated as a fact.
Fuji sat up, forcing his muscles to cooperate. Had the three of them had the exact same dream? That was unusual, wasn't it? But then, Eiji and Oishi had had the exact same dream as well. Although Fuji really didn't count that. As silly of a reason it sounded like, Eiji and Oishi were the Golden Pair. They were in sync with everything. Sharing dreams would not be unreasonable for them.
"We had the same dream," Tezuka said slowly, his tone clearly disbelieving. "Fuji," he said as he sat up, "describe yours."
Fuji cocked his head, but did so, even going so far as to describe his reasons behind pushing the button. Tezuka repeated a similar line of questioning for Inui before describing his own.
Inui had turned the desk lamp on at some point in the middle of all the questions, and Tezuka crawled to his bag to grab something from it. Ignoring the fact that Fuji never in his life thought he'd see his friend and captain crawl for any reason, he wondered what it was that Tezuka had gotten.
The familiar sound of a pen scratching against paper answered his curiosity. Knowing Tezuka, he had just taken detailed notes on all of their dreams.
Without waiting for prompting, Inui did the same as Fuji. Blue eyes watched a pale hand travel over and fill up the white page. The one-empty blankness filled up quickly between the two of their encounter.
Once it appeared that Tezuka was satisfied, he briefly recounted his own dream.
"It seems that we all came across an orange button," Fuji stated, rather obviously. He winced at his own words. He was more tired than he thought if he was saying things like that. Still, Tezuka didn't patronize him for it; he simply nodded.
"Yes."
"I wonder if we were the only ones to encounter this...," Inuid said suddenly.
"What are you thinking, Inui?" Fuji's voice was strained to his ears. He truly was exhausted. He badly needed rest, but this was important.
"I'm thinking that others may have dreamt of the same thing. Did this dream not seem different to you, Fuji?"
Fuji nodded, not really caring if Inui saw him in the dim lighting. "It did."
Though the scenery and content were obviously different, he really couldn't explain what had felt so strange about the dream. It didn't feel like anything they'd had in the weird world before.
He stopped himself. "The world...."
"What is it, Fuji?" Tezuka didn't look up from his writings, but he acknowledged Fuji's unintentionally spoken words anyway.
"These dreams...aren't they like a new world?"
Tezuka did stop this time. "I would rather not think of it in those terms." He shook his head. "Isn't that too much like fantasy?"
"Or something out of a sci-fi novel?" Inui butted in before chuckling. "No, Fuji has a point. It's a recurring setting. Isn't that enough to make it a world?"
Tezuka simply shook his head again. "No. I will not think of it in those terms."
It was rare that Tezuka was so insistent about something, so Fuji went and let it slide. Still, the idea of going into a world night after night was...interesting. And a little worrisome, frankly. This last dream had felt like...something was going to happen very soon. It felt like...a beginning.
Fuji could only sit there and wonder what, exactly, was beginning.