Dream
By LoveAnimeForever
Thanks to 64damn_prompts on LJ.
1. 2 a.m.
The alarm goes off. Ren wakes up. His clock must be malfunctioning again. He whacks it to make it shut up, curls back up and goes back to sleep.
2. metaphor
He dreams of 3-D and times past. Somewhere deep down, he feels as if he's missing something.
3. sky
They're at the field, playing Kick-The-Can. Yankumi never gets tired of it. She's a weird woman. Ren pauses for a moment, looks up at the blue expanse watching over them all. And for that moment, he feels connected to everyone and everything, just because they share that sky and those clouds.
4. lost scene
And then a can hits him on the back of the head. He turns around, ready to punch someone. The scene shifts.
5. degrees
There are different shades of black, Ren realizes. And each and every one of them swirls before his eyes right now, in this sleep void where he's not even supposed to see, because he doesn't have a body, let alone eyes.
6. seize the day
The colors return. Yankumi is lecturing them again. Live proudly and face the sun in everything you do. Yeah, she's a weird woman.
7. opposite
But Ren doesn't like the sun. He likes the moon. He likes sleep, and his dreams, and he doesn't like reality. Not since he graduated.
8. passions run
But then again, school… Isn't reality. It's a realm to let loose and have fun, and to pick fights and skip classes.
9. connection
To make friends.
10. lull and storm
To argue with them. To apologize and then argue again.
11. animal
To live wild, like a beast with nothing but instincts to play.
12. children
(And to annoy that idiotic vice principal.)
13. we all float on
Clouds. What, is he Mary Poppins, now? He looks down, and discovers he's above the school. Memories waft up to him; he savors each and every one.
14. chess
There was one time, he and Yamato tried to settle things… Civilly. Everyone knows how that turned out. And everyone knows neither of the class heads can play chess.
15. duty
But they had to settle it, right? No matter what Yankumi said about comrades (which they were…) (hopefully), they had to find out who was stronger. A friendly match. Yeah.
16. rip
Yamato's sleeve got ripped during their friendly match. Oops. They'd had to think of how to explain it to his mother. (And father. That, was on a wholly different level on its own.)
17. missing time
Thoughts, images, words. Everything flies past Ren, and he wonders where all that time went. Years had used to seem so long.
18. crest
A rushing wave. Crashing down. Goodbyes. Graduation.
19. itch
There was another time, when Yamato got an itch right at the small of his back. Where he couldn't reach. Ren found it immensely funny.
20. explode
Until, that is, Yamato punched him in the face.
21. rise
Hard.
22. crumble
The cloud turns into mist, and the school sort of disintegrates. Ren finds himself surrounded by black again.
23. range
The blacks turn into a myriad of flashing lights – the arcade. A hunting range for teachers. The prey for tonight? 3-D.
24. fight/flight
Better run. … … … Or…
25. acid
Too late. Sawatari has Yamato by the arm. The man's holier-than-thou attitude was like poison. It wouldn't be long now… There we go.
26. color
Yamato punches him. His face is a very nice shade of purple the next day.
27. give
Another change in scene. The six of them are sitting around a Christmas tree at Yankumi's house. Midnight. After a long lecture on the meaning of "what it is to give" in horrible English, Yankumi finally allows them to exchange presents.
28. needle
A… Sewing set… Is Satoru crazy?! (To patch up Yamato's uniform, apparently. Ren shakes his head exasperatedly and whacks Satoru about the head.)
29. locks
Idiotic presents aside, Ren gives Yamato his present. A necklace with a lock pendant. (Isn't that something you give your lover?! Ren whacks Satoru again.)
30. slope
Yet another shift. The whole class running down a hill, towards a non-existent sunset.
31. correspondence
Promises to keep in touch.
32. linger
Unwillingness to part on that last day.
33. charm
Yamato gives him a charm to attach to his handphone. In exchange for the necklace. They would be friends forever.
34. roads
At the end of the hill is a road. The class has to split to get home now. Symbolic.
35. hunger
Ren misses the togetherness. It wasn't something the big, empty world liked to give out.
36. reciprocity
And if you tried to make to first move, and be nice to your co-workers, you got looked at weird.
37. kind
It isn't that bad, sometimes. Ren made some new friends. Strangely, they are all the same "type" as Yamato and gang.
38. fruity
Another swirl of black, and Ren finds himself in a fruit orchard. (This is new…) Yamato gets pushed into a tub of… What is that stuff?! Well, whatever it is, it smells like… Uh… Fruits.
39. half-life
Yamato pulls himself out of the tub, dripping in the unknown fruit-smelling substance. He looks like some zombie risen from hell.
40. comedy of errors
Satoru – who had pushed him in, in the first place – must be scared. He runs away.
41. tragedy
The scene fades away.
42. hope is the thing with feathers
A night. The six of them. Splayed out on a hill, watching the stars.
43. empire
The next day, they go their separate ways for job interviews. Napoleon said, divide and conquer.
44. turpentine kisses and mistaken blows
No one said anything about Satoru pushing Ren into Yamato as a farewell practical joke. If Yamato had been a girl, Ren wouldn't have minded. As it was, they end up in a fist fight.
45. rings
Yet another change in location. A church, actually… Yankumi was getting married?! … … Ah, to Tetsu-san. That isn't as big a deal as otherwise.
46. dust
Back in the classroom. Musty.
47. every you, every me
It feels empty without all the 3-D students.
48. project
There's still a banner across the blackboard. It's one of Yankumi's "Operation: Something Or Other" banners.
49. adore
Ren doesn't hate Yankumi's pet projects anymore. But he can't say he loves them, either. He just… Doesn't mind them. Yeah.
50. murmur
In his heart, he acknowledges that he misses the antics he and his classmates got up to.
51. above
Everything 3-D did sent the teachers and directors into a rage. It was amusing.
52. below
And everything 3-D did, 2-D vowed to surpass. That was even more amusing.
53. incalculable
Their cute little juniors had infinitely deep wells of evil within them. Ren had always wanted to work with them to prank… Someone. (Saru…)
54. wire
Well, he got his wish. It involved a lot of steel wire, and holding the chairs and tables in precarious positions with said steel wire, and a last bit of wire to pull…
55. landslide
They finished just in time. When Sawatari came to the 3-D classroom after getting news that 2-D was missing and hearing the noise of two –D classes combined, he got quite the surprise…
56. the beginning is the end is the beginning
Expel them! Expel them all! – They're just children… – Expel them anyway!
57. door
Outside the door to the staff room, two classes of delinquents sniggered at the now-common exchange.
58. enemy gate
And then Yankumi came out and stormed them back to the classroom.
59. stone
She stood at the front of the class, surveying the 3-D students (at their desks) and their juniors (crowded at the back of the room, leaning against the wall) with a death glare. There was a chill wind.
60. bright
A bright flash of light, and a change of scene again. Apparently, Ren's dream has gotten tired of black.
61. stories
Or not. It'sdark, with only a few candles lighting the room. Well, this is familiar… Ren grinned.
62. chime
The school bell chimes, waking Ren from his sleep.
63. laugh
A dream… Of a dream? Beside him, Yamato and the other four get up as well. You should see your face right now. Did you dream of a naked Yankumi, or something?!
64. hold
Ren rolls his eyes as his friends laugh themselves silly. School isn't over yet. That's good. He's gonna hold on tight to these remaining months. And definitely gonna try that thing with the wire, tables, chairs, and his cute little juniors.