A/N - Thank you so much for your reviews! I'll reply to them personally when I have the time. Enjoy this chapter!

The Dream Catcher

By Keiko Oda (II)

Chapter 4

He couldn't believe his eyes. Lying across his bed, sprawled on the floor in a pool of broken glass and blood, was a girl he had never seen before. Her long, sand-coloured hair was tangled in damp, sweaty tendrils and her skin glistened with perspiration and blood. She was awake, her bright, hazel eyes stared at Natsume with a mix of agony, fear and surprise. She wore nothing but a torn-up, canvas tunic that hung limply up to her thighs, which were covered in cuts and bruises. To Natsume, the most outrageous part of it all were her arms and legs, which were tied up in a shimmering, ethereal entanglement of what looked like a thickened enlargement of the dream catcher's netting.

Before he could move a muscle, there was an urgent knock on the door. "Natsume-kun?" cried out Kaede. "Open up! Are you alright?"

"Yes!" shouted Natsume, his voice breaking in distress, "It was just a nightmare, ma!"

"I thought I heard a crash – Natsume, please!"

"Ma, it's fine. D-don't worry! You can go! I'll be downstairs in a bit!"

When he was sure that Kaede had left, he got up from bed and stared at the girl, who was so complicatedly twisted in the net that she lay in the most contorted position. She breathed heavily like a dying fish.

"Who – who are you?" asked Natsume softly.

The girl didn't reply. She limply lifted an arm, showing Natsume how deeply the net had hacked through her skin.

"I repeat," he said, "Who the hell are you?" He spoke so softly that he could hardly hear himself.

Still, she didn't speak. Natsume figured that for as long as she was caught in that trap, she wouldn't utter a word. He walked over to his desk drawer and fished out a pair of scissors. He knelt over the net and began cutting through the tangles. The material was stiffer than he expected, and he had to grab a second, bigger pair to complete the task. When he lifted the net, he saw the girl wince at the pain of her wounds. She had so many, and she bled so profusely that Natsume decided to call his mother. But as he was about to leave the door, she objected.

"Don't. It's only temporary," she said. Her voice was like that of a high-pitched songbird's.

"The hell, how can those be temporary?" He pointed to the cuts and gashes. For a minute he had forgotten the peculiarity of the situation.

"I mean, it's nothing serious." Her skin was red and raw. "I just need to sleep."

"Right. Sleep. By that time, you'll be dead."

She lifted herself from the floor and dragged herself to Natsume's bed. She collapsed onto the futon and fell into a deep sleep. In that moment, Natsume's mother entered the door. Her scream pulsated through every house in the neighbourhood.

"Oh my GOD." She shrieked, over and over. "Oh my God. Oh my God. OH MY. NATSUME. WHAT IN HOLY HEAVENS DID YOU DO?" She ran out the door and collapsed halfway through the corridor. Natsume urgently ran after her. Her face was pale. "Who. Was. That. Bloodied. Up. What. What happened." She heaved.

"Mom, I don't know what the hell is happening either," he responded. "I woke up, and she was there. And what the f-fuck happened is a goddamn mystery!"

"Did you hurt her?" she muttered, faintly.

He crouched next to his mother. "Trust me, ma. I didn't! I don't even know who the hell she is! I have never seen her before! It's that stupid...dream...catcher." His final words slurred out like sticky liquid, and, as if everything suddenly he murmured under his breath, "Sakura...sama..."

"That bastard."

XXXX

He had been expecting him for awhile. It was only a matter of time before the rebellious teenage boy would come running to him. Surprised? But of course. Angry? It was a given. Sakura-sama pondered as he sat down by his breakfast table, his fingers tapping against the hardwood. He sipped his chamomile tea and wondered what became of the dream catcher.

He was about to pick up the morning paper when he heard heavy thumps overhead. A sly smile quivered across his face as he got up from his cushion, dried his hands and ambled towards the narrow staircase that spiralled up to the shop. As expected, he found Natsume there, furiously pacing back and forth. "Sakura-sama!" he exclaimed, once he caught sight of the old man. "I've been looking all over the goddamn town for you!"

Sakura-sama nodded, watching the panic-stricken boy precariously walk towards him. "They told me that the stupid contraption catches dreams! Then why the heck did I get a living, breathing girl, tied up to the window the next friggin morning?"

"A girl!" said Sakura-sama brightly. "A girl, a girl, a girl."

"You know, old man, I was sort of expecting to dream of flying monkeys or golden camels and all that crazy shit of yours but NO. I get up, and I find this bleeding chick lying on my bedroom floor. And she's all – (he clears his throat and talks in an unusually high-pitched tune) I'll be alright, I just need to sleep! Then she just frikking crawls onto my bed – mind you, she's like spilling her fucking blood gunk EVERYWHERE, falls asleep and yeah, mom freaks. So can you please explain what the hell is going on?"

Sakura-sama walks over to his invisible armchair and sits down. "Oh, well – something that is perfectly normal, of course."

"The old geezer has definitely lost it!" Natsume declared, after a pause, and began applauding sarcastically.

"No, Natsume-kun," Sakura-sama began, "I'm absolutely serious. The dream catcher – its name is self-explanatory. It catches dreams. Your dreams. And the girl, well, she is nothing but a dream."

Natsume took a deep breath. "Right. So, I'm dreaming. And I'm going to go back home and realize that the chick doesn't exist and this was just one, big joke of yours."

"Oh, of course not!" Sakura-sama grinned. "She'll stay. That's how dreams are."

"No, grandpa. The world I come from – you know, where people aren't crazy like you – dreams disappear. You wake up and bam, they're gone. So if you said this girl is a dream, then she's not real. She's like, a mirage! A ghost! A figment of my imagination!"

Sakura-sama stretched out his legs."Natsume, dreams are realer than realness. Yes, they do come from our imaginations, our subconscious, the deepest crevices of our hearts, but they exist and are concrete as blood and water. They exist in a different dimension – that is, the world of dreams. Now, the dream catcher is a medium between our two worlds, and it catches them. It catches them so we can make our dreams real."

"Okay, man. I lost you there. Whatever. Anyway, how the hell do I get rid of her?"

"The girl?"

"Yes! The girl! By now, she would've bled the fucking Niagra falls out of my room!"

"You can't get rid of her."

"What?" hissed Natsume.

"You can drive her to the next city and throw her into a hole, and she'll still appear right next to you the very next day!"

"This is some bitchy sorcery, isn't it?"

"She's your dream, Natsume. And unless you stop wanting her, she will never go away."

"I never wanted her! Hell, I never even wanted a girlfriend!"

Sakura-sama laughed. "Well, maybe she's here for another purpose."

Natsume was about to speak when he heard a rapping on the door. It was Officer Beckett.

XXXX

"A week into house arrest and you're already walking the streets like you own the place," Officer Beckett said, as he dropped Natsume off at his house. "You're worse than I expected, kid."

"It was an emergency," repeated Natsume for the nth time.

"I don't care what kind of emergency it is. You see this band?" He grabbed Natsume's arm and lifted it for him to see. "This means you're a criminal. Until your trial, that is."

Natsume sneered, pulled away and tucked his arm underneath his jacket. He opened the car door and headed for the driveway of his house. He felt Officer Beckett's eyes bury into his back as he swung open the door and shut it behind him. He sighed in relief. This is too much stress for a guy like me, he thought. He kicked off his shoes and walked over to the kitchen to grab breakfast. He found the girl sitting by the table, looking expectantly at him.

"What the –

"Your mom. She's asleep. But she'll be alright. Just shaken up, a bit, you know?"

"Yeah, your arrival kinda shocked the life out of her," Natsume shrugged. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," she smiled. Natsume raised an eyebrow. She had a nice grin.

He went over to the refrigerator, snatched the bottle of milk and gulped half of it down. He knew the girl was watching him. He put the bottle down on the counter and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He sighed and turned to her. All of her wounds were gone. Her skin was flawless.

"You know, kid, last time I checked, you looked pretty much beaten up," he said.

"I heal when I sleep," came the reply.

"Ah," Natsume nodded. "Magic stuff. Anyway, I'm going to bed."

"Okay!" said the girl brightly. "I'll go with you!"

Natsume stopped walking and spun to look at her. She was staring so closely at his face that he almost jumped. "Jeez, kid. I don't know what your job exactly is, but stay out of my sight!"

"I can't do that," she replied. "Dreams belong with dreamers."

"Every-fucking-body is talking to me in metaphors," Natsume said between his teeth. "Okay, look. I never wanted you. Alright? I don't know, maybe there was a mismatch in assignments in the whole dream community or shit, but you don't belong with me. In fact, I hardly dream at all! So why don't you like, go through the net again, and disappear forever? Maybe the Chief of Dreams can assign you to another guy. But you definitely got the wrong one."

"Nope. Natsume Hyuuga. Height is 5"10, Weight is 146 pounds. Born on November 27, zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Blood type B. Favourite colour is red and loves honey-glazed ribs with pineapple sauce AND baked potatoes." She recited this so quickly that Natsume could hardly follow.

"You are one creepy woman," was all he said. And he slammed the door at her face.

He walked as quickly as he could, up the stairs, through the corridor and into his room. He locked the door, drew the curtains and collapsed onto his bed, which was surprisingly – softer and cleaner than it normally was. Silence. He closed his eyes.

He was about to drift to sleep when he felt something tickle his nose. When his eyelids fluttered open, he saw that the girl was crouched right on top him.

"What the hell!" He shouted, and crawled out of bed. "Jesus Christ, will you PLEASE get away from me?"

"I can't!" she had this habit of speaking so rapidly, "It's like magnetism, you know? Wherever you go, I go! For as long as you want me –

"I DON'T WANT YOU." Natsume shouted. "Give me some space."

"Don't you even want to know my name?" the girl asked softly.

"If you tell me your name, will you PLEASE shut up?" He closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, she would have disappeared. He opened them again. She was still there.

"Mikan," she said, "My name is Mikan."

XXXX

"I think Mikan is a wonderful name," said Kaede, as she handed Natsume her plate after dinner that night. She turned to Mikan, who had appeared in a yellow, floral sundress. "Mikan-chan, are you sure you don't need anything for the night?"

Mikan twirled around. "Everything is fine, Hyuuga-sama. The guest bedroom is perfect."

Natsume remained silent. He could not understand how his mother forgot everything that happened that morning. When she awoke later that afternoon, she kept yapping about how Mikan was welcome to stay, and that "the poor girl needs a roof over her head, don't you think? Now, now, Natsume! Don't complain! We must be hospitable to our guests!" Natsume figured that Mikan had put a spell on her or something, and as he washed the dishes that night, he found out that she was right.

"So you can toy with people's consciences, huh?" He said, his arms half-deep in dishwashing soap. "Wait till ma finds out. She'll have you beheaded."

"Oh, Hyuuga-sama is such a nice host," Mikan said, as she sat down on the kitchen counter and swung her legs to and fro. "I'm staying in your room though."

"Just a minute there," Natsume said, "You are not staying in my room. We agreed you'd stay in the guest room. For tonight, at least. Tomorrow you'll be gone and I can go back to my happy life again!"

"Oh, Natsume-kun," said Mikan, ignoring him as he muttered "Don't call me that!" "You aren't happy. That's why I'm here."

"Right. And you know me well because...?"

"Because I'm your dream. I know everything about you. You and me – we're one and the same, you know."

Natsume put a stop to his chore and looked at her in disbelief. "I highly doubt that a crazy freak like you and someone like me, are identical."

Mikan shrugged and yawned. "Are we going to bed now?"

Silence.

"Natsume?"

Mikan turned to him and saw that he had sat down on the floor with his face buried in his arms. His arms were dripping with dishwater.

"Natsume-kun? Are you alright?"

He grunted. "This is too much for me to take in."

"Well –

He sat up and tossed the dishwashing towel aside. "Hey, dream. Would you mind finishing up in here? I'm beat."

"I don't know how –

"What do you mean you don't know how? If you and I are one and the same, then you should very well know how to wash goddamn plates!"

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. In that moment, he grabbed her by the collar and stared her down. "Listen," his tone was more depressive than angry, "These past two weeks have been really shitty for me. I got arrested, I got sentenced, and who knows – maybe I'll be convicted after my birthday! You can imagine that meeting this clingy, uncontrollable, goddamn talkative dream of mine is the cherry on top of my happy sundae! I can't even get rid of you!" With those last words, he dropped her and walked out the door, not bothering to check whether she got hurt or not.

When he got to the room, he was not surprised to see her there. "I'm sorry," she said. "I told you –

"Magnetism, right" He sighed, exasperated. "Just don't bother me." He slid into his bed and closed his eyes.

"Natsume?"

He did not reply. He did not want to talk anymore.

"I'm just trying to help you, Natsume."

He took a deep breath. "Everybody has tried that, little girl."

He paused. Then he breathed again. "It never worked."

To be continued.