I looked around for Yumekui Kenbun stories, and found none. Not that I'm surprised; it's a fairly unknown series, but it's really good. XD Having said that, you do not necessarily need to have any knowledge of the series to understand this story. If that helps.

Further author's notes are at the end of the chapter.

Warnings: violence, language, potentially disturbing images (hey, YK is a horror series!)

Disclaimer: Yumekui Kenbun and all affiliated characters and settings are the creative property of Shin Mashiba. Used without permission for no profit.

Dream Snatcher
by BakaBokken

Prologue: Case Zero

In the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind, he knew that he'd been trapped. The girl had been too crafty and quick enough that he couldn't detect anything wrong until he slept… then the nightmare began. At first, he tried a sleep aid cocktail recommended by his healer. But when the drug-induced sleep only prolonged his nocturnal agony, he stopped, and decided to try to live with the bad dreams. He hoped it was only a phase, one that would pass given some time.

Most nights, he stood by and watched as someone he knew was killed. It didn't matter what his relationship was to the victim; one night, a man he'd met in line for groceries had been the one to die. When he woke in a cold sweat, he calmed himself and thought nothing of it, until the man's brutal murder was reported in the newspaper the next morning. When a gleeful feminine voice in the back of his mind mocked the sick feeling he felt in his gut, he knew he'd somehow been cursed.

But the girl didn't seem too interested in him when they'd first met at the bar. Of course, he'd noticed her because she was pretty; she had long, silky brown hair, intense grey eyes, creamy skin, and full red lips on a heart-shaped face. Their eyes met when he'd been caught staring at her. She beckoned to him, he curiously came to visit with her, and she snubbed him. When he took his leave, she touched his forearm, looked directly into his eyes, and whispered something in a language he had never heard before. Nothing felt off at the time, and she'd smiled and bid him goodnight afterward. Thinking back on it, he thought perhaps she'd uttered an incantation of sorts. What sort of spell she'd cast on him, however, he knew not. He wasn't so knowledgeable when it came to magic.

He didn't understand what she wanted from him, since he'd never met her before that night.

When a close friend died later in the week, he determined that he'd had enough. He would not be bullied into sleepless nights and daily fears of losing people he knew. After searching frantically for a cure, he came across a rumor of a creature that ate nightmares – a baku. The next morning, he found himself wandering through Tokyo, in search of the tea house Ginseikan where this baku supposedly could be found.

Upon entering the tea house, a young woman dressed in a simple kimono greeted him with a friendly smile that belied the dark, depressive atmosphere oppressing the store. He smiled back, half-ignoring her as he looked for the baku.

"Excuse me, sir, are you looking for Hiruko?" the girl inquired politely.

"Hiruko? Is that the baku?" he asked.

Instead of replying immediately, she gave him an appraising glance. "What is your name, young man?"

"Hayashi Sato, but Sato is fine," he replied.

"Hiruko is right here, Sato-san," the girl said with a smooth motion of her hand.

Sato followed the gesture with a curious expression, and then was surprised to find that this 'Hiruko' looked nothing like he had expected. The baku, at a glance, looked like an ordinary young human male with a very bizarre stylistic taste. Shaggy, dark-blonde locks shadowed Hiruko's icy blue eyes, a color that matched the belt holding the longer, spiked half of his hair behind his ears. His black, off-the-shoulder trench coat rustled as he shifted to face his potential client with a smirk. Small streams of sunlight filtered through the window, reflecting off a skin-tight white tank top, catching the half-circle pendant attached to a blue collar at his neck with a glaring sparkle, the overall effects of which gave the baku an ethereal glow. The voice in the back of Sato's mind squealed with delight.

"I… I have a nightmare that I need you to help me with," Sato began, "and I came to discuss payment with you."

"The only payment I need is your nightmare," Hiruko replied easily. "How can I help you?"

"I keep having nightmares that involve acquaintances of mine, and when I wake, I find that my nightmares have somehow come true." Hiruko's expression didn't change as he waited for Sato to continue his story. "I've lost countless nights of sleep this way, and lately the voice that belongs to the killer in my dreams has been haunting me even when I'm awake."

"What kinds of things does this voice say?" the baku wanted to know.

"It tells me that I'm weak, and that I can't stop it from harming my friends."

Hiruko nodded slightly, though he seemed slightly bored. "Does it ask anything of you?"

"No… it seems to be waiting for me to do something, but I don't know what."

"When did these nightmares begin?"

Sato hesitated. "I… I have a feeling I know who started them, but I don't know her name, or why she chose me." He recounted his meeting with the woman in the bar and the odd behavior she'd displayed when he tried starting a conversation with her. When Sato mentioned the incantation, Hiruko suddenly seemed interested.

"Incantation?" he repeated when Sato finished his story. "This sounds more like a curse than a nightmare, but I'll see what I can do for you." The baku stood, hefting a briefcase over his shoulder with one hand and lifting an odd-looking cane with the other. Before Sato could react, Hiruko lifted the cane and pointed the hooked groove of it at his customer. "Now sleep, and leave reality behind."

A sudden drowsiness stole reality from Sato.

In a room filled with Western-style furniture, Sato stood in one corner of the room as he blinked in surprise at the sudden transportation into his dream. In the chair sat an acquaintance of his from his work, who seemed to be happily carrying on a conversation with him that he hadn't been paying attention to.

"This is the place, right?" the baku's voice made him jump, and he whirled to find Hiruko standing behind him with a knowing smirk.

"Y-Yes," he stammered. "This is the same room as the last dream, though not all of them take place here."

The coworker didn't seem to notice the interruption and kept prattling idly about his current project at work. Sato found it odd that although everything in the room seemed real, the coworker failed to notice either his or Hiruko's presences. Instead, the chitchat was directed at a fourth figure, standing in the shadows with only a pair of feet bound by high-heeled stiletto sandals showing underneath the darkness. When the figure moved towards the man in the chair, Sato could vaguely discern a glittering weapon in the figure's hands as it lunged at his coworker. His distressed exclamation caught Hiruko's attention, and he quickly darted across the room to intercept the attacker.

"Hiruko-san!"

A blinding light shot from the scuffle, engulfing the room with white nothingness. Once it faded, only Hiruko and Sato were left. The baku looked tired, but with a wry grin, he stated evenly, "It's time to wake up."

The dream world swirled and faded to black.

"He seemed relieved, that Sato-san," Ginseikan's mistress noted as she watched the young man leave her tea house.

Hiruko slumped into his usual seat with a sigh. "Yeah, I guess he would. At least the nightmare was tasty enough for all that trouble."

"Trouble?"

Hiruko groaned and slumped back in the chair with a wince. "Damn bitch… why does she have to come back now?" he murmured.

"Hiruko?"

Instead of answering, the baku dragged himself to his feet, slouching as he stumbled towards the restroom. When he fell, the tea house mistress was there to catch him with a concerned gleam in her eyes. She kept her hand on his back until he steadied himself. Hiruko offered her a sheepish glance, and she frowned – there was blood on her hand.

"What happened, Hiruko?" she demanded.

"Long story," he said with a light cough.

"First aid kit?" she asked, and he nodded. "Here, you take a seat, and when I help you take care of that injury, we'll talk."

Hiruko was more than happy to comply.

.end prologue.

Note

Baku – a nightmare-eating being

This piece is based on a manga called Yumekui Kenbun by Shin Mashiba. I'll hopefully be filling in enough details (as this progresses) that you really don't have to have knowledge of the series to understand this particular story. However, the character descriptions will be better realized if you've read the manga. If you don't read the manga, it's fine; this will read a bit like an original story, in that case. I've provided a link in my bio to where you can locate the manga.

I'm not proclaiming that I understand this series well; I simply was bitten by a plot bunny early on in my obsession that I wanted to capitalize upon. Hopefully I won't butcher the canon too much, since only 11 chapters are available online, and even though I have up to volume 4 in Japanese, my reading skills are horrid (and the Japanese in YK is a little more difficult than the norm).

Sorry I rushed the ending a bit. However, I have since found the tea house mistress' name, and I will be editing it into the story once I get more written. However, this is currently on hold until I am able to decipher a few major upcoming plot points in the manga (either via scanlation or my own devices).

If all goes as planned, this will be a short story, but nonetheless complex (again, if all goes as planned...). Please bear with me, and comments would be much appreciated! Thanks!