Mayuzumi woke up feeling like the wind was knocked out of him. The very first detailed dream he had after the Winter Cup had come as a surprise. The events whilst dreaming could be remembered down to a T, novels and all. After experiencing that, he realized he had better memory sleeping than while awake, which was useful, but just didn't sit well with him. It wasn't too much of an issue though, he had heard of lucid dreaming before. Some people probably only experience lucid dreams.

What he didn't want was anyone coming in. Before Kuroko appeared, he was in a world of serene solitude. Just why were his dreams now torturing him as well?

He rubbed at his eyes with one hand, the other pushing back the sheets. At least he managed a decent amount of sleep. The bad part was the he felt wearier than usual. He woke up in the nick of time, a few minutes before his alarm normally went off.

Although he still didn't want to get up.

He flipped over to muffle groans in his pillow, already beginning to dread training today. Finally mustering up the energy to stand up, he dragged himself over to the window to noisily open it up and let fresh air filter in. Birds chirped merrily nearby, denoting that spring was right around the corner.

If only he was a bird. Then he wouldn't have to ever deal with bratty red heads and basketball idiots.

Look at him. He's contemplating becoming a bird bright and early in the morning. If this wasn't the epitome of pitiful, he didn't know what was.

Well, his kouhais never truly respected him. There was never a rude awakening when it came to that.

As his thoughts trailed down that road, he made his way towards the bathroom to wash up. Stretching and popping his neck, he reminded himself not to strain his neck so much while reading. Suspending it in one spot for a whole lunch period was a bad habit of his.

He turned on the faucet and began splashing cold water onto his face. While it did serve to wake him up, he regret that it brought memories of last night up forth. Sympathy never really suited him.

As he cranked off the faucet, he stared down the drain with his hands resting on the handles. 'Kuroko, huh...'

Akashi had always said they were similar, but all he saw was a shitty basketball player who couldn't do anything independently.

Sure, Seirin had won the Winter Cup. It was wrong to say Kuroko hadn't contributed to their win. After all, he figured out how to counteract Akashi's Emporer Eye, which was a feat in itself. However, he would have not done so had Kagami not been in the Zone like Akashi.

No wait, that's not quite right.

Mayuzumi glared at his reflection, before he grabbed his toothbrush and towel.

It was because both Kagami and Kuroko were there, fighting together as teammates.

It would be a lie to say that he didn't learn anything from Kuroko's example. Not only with controlling misdirection, but also grasping the concept of working towards a goal with your teammates, which was something Akashi ignored. But, he was guilty of that as well. He never rejoined the team with a plan to make friends. He knew he was a chess piece in Akashi's game, and nothing more than that. So it wasn't eye-opening that he didn't particularly care about victory.

Seirin was a prime example of a team's well-earned victory, worthy of cheer and celebration.

It would also be a lie to say that he didn't at least consider changing his morals to be more like Kuroko's.

Old habits die hard, though. Either that or he just didn't care enough.

But maybe this was why he didn't immediately quit the basketball club after their loss at the Winter Cup.

…Maybe this was also why Kuroko showed up. Either it was his brain attempting to balance out giving him the blessing of lucid dreaming, or it was reflecting the consequences of his decision to continue basketball. Most likely the latter, since he'd admit the younger teen had been crossing his mind as of late.

But what would his dreams do? Teach him a new lesson? He was going to make himself laugh at this rate.

And that was when the senior realized he was already dressed and finishing his breakfast, ready to go to another day of school. He tilted his head back, taking a deep breath.

He was thinking much too hard early in the morning. Maybe he should take up that idea of becoming a bird.

He sighed to himself, grabbing his keys.

As he opened the front door of his apartment, he turned back to stare at his empty home.

"I'll be going now," he said to no one in particular.

"Are you okay, Kuroko?" Kagami turned around in his seat before the start of school, having slowly gotten used to being aware of his teammate's presence. "You look like shit."

Kuroko stared sleepily at the red head, blinking a few times to rid himself of any attempt to catch some Z's. He didn't think the bags under his eyes were evident enough, but Kuroko guessed that Kagami took note of his slightly more disheveled hair. He didn't manage to tame his bedhead this morning.

Had he felt more sarcastic, he would've said something along the lines of, "Thank you for your input, Kagami-kun," but today, it was just "…I'm fine, Kagami-kun."

Kagami stared at him, unimpressed. What a blatant lie. "Did you have nightmares or something?"

Kuroko pondered pinching himself to stay awake, but forced himself to answer the other. "If you want to call it a nightmare, then yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that by Kagami-kun's standards, it would be a nightmare. You are easily scared of dogs, and my dream included quite a few."

Kagami grimaced, visibly offended. "Of course I wouldn't be scared! Nightmares about dogs are different than reality!"

"If it really was different, then you'd be calling them dreams instead of nightmares, Kagami-kun."

Kagami was about to retort, only to be cut off by the ringing bell. He grit his teeth in irritation, pointing an accusatory finger at his friend. He seemed to say, 'I'll get you next time!' His face then briefly changed to something to that of worry, before turning back around to face the front.

Kuroko sat down as well, amused at Kagami's antics, but all in all, appreciative that the other took the time to detect that something was off. He didn't mean to lie. Teasing the red head was just much too tempting. Sometimes he was a real Bakagami, but this time, Kuroko could only give a grateful smile to the back of a mop of red hair.

Filing through his book bag, he took out his notebook and pencil.

Kuroko had not meant to lose so much sleep. Usually upon waking up, he could recall any possible dreams he had that night, only to start forgetting bits and pieces within the first hour. It wasn't something he minded though. His dreams never were too coherent to begin with. They were typically banal, nothing even particularly worth remembering.

Which was why after experiencing a dream of that caliber last night, Kuroko could only toss and turn after regaining consciousness. He'd never been able to control his own movement at will while dreaming. All in all, last night was stressful. The events that transpired inside his head were imprinted deep, displaying across his eyes as he stared with an unfocused gaze at the ceiling. It was like a bad film stuck on repeat. It tortured him so that he was stuck wanting some much needed shut-eye, yet also wanting to avoid further nightmares. He never had anything against octopus before, but now he wasn't so sure.

In the end, he wasn't surprised when he only managed about four hours of sleep, and his eyes were more bloodshot than they had ever been in years.

He managed to easily hide any traces of a late night with eyedrops, but by using time to rummage through all his cabinets for them, he forgot he needed to tend to his terrible hair.

It didn't help his already worn out brain that he was confused on why Mayuzumi could've possibly shown up in his subconsciousness. He didn't even usually dream of anyone. Sometimes, but rarely, people from Seirin made a cameo. He couldn't fathom any reason why a senior from another school, that he only met once, would make his grouchy way into his first lucid dream.

At least he behaved like the senior would. Mayuzumi with an amiable personality would've made Kuroko uncomfortable. He would've probably even hid in the nearest trash can just to avoid him. Thank god for his low presence.

Wait.

Kuroko stopped jotting down notes from the teacher's lesson.

The two weren't correlated in some way, were they?

He didn't count on it, although it was almost scary when he realized he could control his actions in a dream at the same time he started dreaming of Mayuzumi. Just what was his mind trying to tell him?

He really didn't have enough energy to think whether this was a sign or a mere coincidence, though.

As the teacher droned on about a lesson, Kuroko struggled to retain awareness. With his chin resting on his palm, Kuroko fell into a deep sleep.

Invisible he may be, Kagami being seated in front of him was a blessing in more ways than one.

As Mayuzumi sat in class trying to pay attention to the teacher's lecture about making the right choices after graduating high school, he found his thoughts focused on anything but school related.

'Am I developing…narcolepsy?'

He mentally cursed as his eyes drooped, head slipping from his fist again for the fourth time in thirty minutes.

This was getting ridiculous.

Having already felt drowsy upon waking up this morning, he'd made sure to get a healthy breakfast and some coffee. Coffee was not supposed to make you sleepier. He's definitely never been this drowsy in his life, even on the nights he nearly pulled an all-nighter for homework.

He hoped this wouldn't become permanent. He really did not need more problems arising just on the verge of entering a university.

'Damn it…I give up,' was his only thought as he succumbed.

Yeah, no.

Mayuzumi wondered if he held his breath, he could suffocate to wake himself up. It'd be better than going through all this again.

He ended up in a lush forest area this time, with plenty of sunlight streaming through the leaves as they swayed gently in the wind. While the sunlight illuminated everything beautifully, it was not eye achingly bright, but comfortable. The air was cool, with the smell of summer being right around the corner. He could hear water running in the distance. A waterfall, maybe?

But what caught his eye first was the familiar baby blue haired brat in the distance. He was facing away on a tire swing attached to an exceptionally large tree. The tree branched out wide, and could have almost substituted for a canopy. The roots were also thick, jutting out from underneath and curling across the hill the tree grew upon. The hill looked manmade, for there was an identical one across it, a pathway paved in between to separate the hills. Mayuzumi had entered the dream facing the pathway, a cozy looking cabin behind him.

The Seirin freshman continued swinging, not having noticed that the senior had arrived.

To be honest, it almost surprised Mayuzumi on how easily he spotted Kuroko. Shouldn't he have at least had a bit of trouble? He wasn't standing out very much, but wasn't his presence even smaller than his own?

Well, that wasn't important right now. What he needed to decide was whether to escape when he had the chance, or confront the other.

He didn't find talking to Kuroko to be very preferable. And honestly, he didn't care much about socializing here. He shouldn't care, since his actions here wouldn't affect the real world.

Exploring was more tempting, but he'd have to sneak by in order to get anywhere. He patted his back pocket for any light novel.

Nothing.

He tsked. What if he tried to make a light novel? This was a dream, after all.

Holding his hand out, Mayuzumi closed his eyes and focused like when he willingly changed the scenery. First, he'd try and make a book.

He felt a weight drop into his hand. Peeking open one eye, a blank, white book was found in his hand. Nice. Now to imagine a cover and let his brain do the rest of the work…

"What are you doing?"

Oh, he should've expected this. Take your eyes off the original Phantom Player and it's like he teleports.

Mayuzumi ignored him. Maybe if he stood like a statue, the other would leave him alone.

"Please do not ignore me, Mayuzumi-san."

Mayuzumi finally opened his eyes, glancing at Kuroko. 'Happy?' he thought.

"I saw you form that book out of nowhere. May I ask how you did that?" Kuroko turned ever blank eyes at the book, but Mayuzumi noticed genuine interest.

"May I ask why you want to know?" he shot back with a clipped, forcefully polite tone.

The younger teen's eyes narrowed the slightest bit, obviously not liking the senior's attitude. "I think it would be useful to know."

Mayuzumi turned suspicious. Why would Kuroko want to know, if he was already part of his dreams? Shouldn't he already be able to do that himself?

Reluctantly, he gave in. "Focus on trying to make it by picturing it in your mind," he demonstrated his instructions, and a cover appeared on the book. "That's how I do it." 'And leave me alone.' He wanted to add as an afterthought.

Kuroko blinked. He wasn't expecting for the senior to actually tell him. He seemed much too centered on his own interests to actually consider helping others. Kuroko dismissed it, instead just attempting it himself.

He focused like the other had said, and wondered on what he could create. Vanilla milkshake, or a novel?

Vanilla milkshake, always.

Focusing hard to picture a cold, freshly made glass of milkshake, he didn't notice the temperature slowly dropping, until he felt a clonk to the head.

"Kuroko."

Kuroko blinked rapidly, slowly taking in his surroundings. He made a questioning sound, rubbing at his eyes.

"You fell asleep, idiot. What would you have done if the teacher realized?" Kagami's face held a hint of disapproval, bordering on nervous.

"…Then Kagami-kun would've woken me up, just like he did now," Kuroko sleepily replied, although feeling a bit more refreshed.

"I'm not here to help you sleep!"

Kuroko's lips turned up a fraction. "I'm still grateful that you warded off any punishments by the teacher for me, Kagami-kun."

Kagami froze, before stuttering out, "Sh-shut up, how'd you even know?"

A pair of baby blue eyes shined knowingly.

That was weird.

Apparently his own method of changing the environment didn't quite work the way it did with Kuroko. Mayuzumi didn't know what the other was trying to make, but he was sure the other wasn't trying to drop the temperature around them.

Little frozen ice shards now were beginning to melt on the forest floor, and the temperature was slowly reverting back to normal. Mayuzumi had called for Kuroko to stop, but the other was lost in his own world, unknowingly freezing the air around him. In the end, he threw his light novel and hit the other in the head, and Kuroko had vanished immediately.

That was the weird part. Why did Kuroko disappear like that?

Though right now wasn't really the time to mull over dream events. He had to wake up or else he'd probably sleep through his next period.

Mayuzumi pulled at his cheek.

A/N: Oh boy, I hope I'm not making Mayuzumi too out of character. I realized when I first wrote this, he sounded a bit too much like Hyuuga, whoops. Chapter was pretty hard to write, as I had to describe how both of them trying to figure out what the dreams might be doing.

Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter doesn't have much interaction. This was to focus on sorting out issues and reveals a bit about the dreams and how they work. I will assure you guys that the dreams will become...more interesting, lol.

Finally, if you have the time, please suggest locations that should appear in the dreams. I might pick yours if I find it suitable!

Thank you for reading!