Another speedy update~

Updates will be this fast until the end, due to a certain surprise I want to give someone. Yup, I'm giving someone fanfiction for their birthday. Which means I gotta hurry, because as of insert chapter's publish date here, there's only so much time left.

Ah well, Enjoy~

In the dream, the Shinigami Academy was empty. Because Nadeshiko had never gone to the academy in her early life, her mind was unable to fill in what went on behind its doors. Sara and Sera inhabited the school, using every power available to them to ensure they didn't have to leave unless they saw it necessary. With their powers, they were able to stay away from Nadeshiko without her mind marking their absence. They also made it possible for certain other people to 'disappear' in order to allow Nadeshiko to reach a certain level of happiness.

The room they stayed in was an empty wooden room with a window and a single door that lead out into the hallway. Spread out across the floor were several sheets of deep blue paper, each showing a certain section of the dream's sky. For every day that passed in the dream, the stars would shift according to their new positions. Sara monitored these charts from an empty section in the middle of the floor.

"Sera…" Sara leaned forward, confused at what she saw on her celestial chart. "Come here."

Sera appeared behind her sister, holding a long stick in her hand. "Yes, Sara?"

"Something happened. Look here."

Sara pointed to a section on a sheet of celestial paper. On it, the stars moved at a rapid pace. After a minute, they stopped, and Sera's eyes widened.

"The time skipped forward?"

Sara nodded.

"How much time?"

"Two weeks flat."

"What…does that mean?"

Sara turned around to face her sister. "There was an invasion. Did you sense anything strange?"

"…I didn't." Sera lies.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing, Sara."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm completely sure."

"Well," Sara shut her eyes and turned back around. "It looks like your senses are dulling. But it's fine, since we haven't done this in such a long while. My guess is that boy."

"Which one?"

"That boy. Remember? His eyes are blue."

"Ah…but didn't you confirm—"

"I was wrong. He's here and he's changing things. Ugh, I hate him!" Sara turned around again. "What's that stick for?"

"Oh! Nothing really…" Sera looked away. "I don't have a staff anymore, and I was making another one in my spare time."

"Ooh, you're doing large-scale whittling again?"

Sera nodded with a bashful smile. "There won't be much to do until later, when we're needed, right?"

"That's right." Sara switched two celestial sheets and their stars' positions switched as well. "Can you make me a small one?"

"Sure."

Matsumoto put her chin on the western-style bar's counter, moping, eyes drooped, and an empty glass in her hand. She sighed, rocking the glass back and forth on the counter. Matsumoto's friend, who happened to be working at the time, noticed her sullen face.

"Aw, Rangiku," she said in a strong Osakan accent. "What's a'matta'?"

"My captain left without telling me."

"Where'd'e go?

"I don't know, Naru."

Naru tugged at a red curl in her hair, letting it fall back into place. "How mean of him. Did 'e leave a note to ya?"

Matsumoto nodded. "All he said was that he was using his vacation days." She buried her head in her arms. "He's so mean!"

"Aw." Naru poured sake into a mug and slid it across the counter. "Here ya go. It's on tha' house."

Matsumoto shook her head. "Sorry, I don't feel like having any more."

"Could I get'cha somethin' else?"

"Water, please."

"Comin' right up."

Naru turned around and busied herself with the water while Matsumoto sulked.

"Drinking's no fun without Taicho to yell at me for it."

The next month, August, is colder. It marks its presence with the yellowing trees and a noticeably dropping temperature. Hitsugaya sits on the roof of his home, staring at a passing cloud while Nadeshiko sits below, eating diced mango. After finishing, Nadeshiko cleans the sticky juice from her fingers and face, checks for any stains on her kimono, and then glances towards the roof. She looks around for a ladder or another means of getting up there, but she doesn't see any.

"Toushiro!" She shouts up, walking backwards into his view.

Hitsugaya looks down. "What?"

"How did you get up there?"

"I climbed."

"Where?"

"Over—" Hitsugaya stops, suddenly thinking about his arm. Though the memory is hazy because of his fall's miraculous heal, he still remembers the pain. He reconsiders. "You're not coming up here."

Nadeshiko pouts. "Why?"

"You'll fall."

"How?"

"I'm sure there are millions of ways, if its you."

"How mean!"

Hitsugaya turns his head, smirking. "When did I ever say I was nice?"

Nadeshiko crosses her arms and spins around. Her eyes dart from tree to tree as she looks for one with a low enough branch. Hitsugaya watches her walk to one and raise her arms to a branch that was just an inch from her reach.

"Nadeshiko." He jumps down, groaning in annoyance at the pain that shoots up through his ankle. "Don't climb that."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"You'll fall and break something."

"But you've done it tons of times…can you teach me how to so I won't fall?"

"No."

"Please, Toushiro?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"I'll try anyway if you don't teach me."

Hitsugaya grabs her arm and pulls her closer, looking her directly in the eyes. "Don't do it, alright?"

Nadeshiko pouts. "You're no fun at all."

"You promise you won't?"

Nadeshiko stares at Hitsugaya, who stares back at her with the same intensity. Minutes pass before Hitsugaya realizes Nadeshiko is only staring at him. His eyebrows arch.

"Nadeshiko?"

She blinks, as if coming out of a trance. "Hm?"

"You were staring at me."

"Oh." Nadeshiko's face reddens slightly, but she doesn't move her gaze. Instead, she leans in closer. "It's just…your eyes are blue."

"You're just now noticing that?"

"What are you?"

"Dead."

"Not that!" Nadeshiko giggles. "What's your…What's the word…?"

"Asian."

"Not that either."

Hitsugaya makes a face and turns away. "It's not important."

"Do you know?"

"That's not important either."

"Fine." Nadeshiko pauses. "Your eyes are pretty."

"To a guy, that isn't much of a compliment."

"They're pretty in a boyish way."

Hitsugaya gives her a strange look. Nadeshiko laughs.

"You have handsome eyes?"

"Stop saying that."

"They're really…handsome."

"Nadeshiko."

"I'm serious," she teases. "How pretty, how pretty."

Hitsugaya backs away. "Stop staring at me."

Nadeshiko falls into a giggle fit that makes her have to sit down. Hitsugaya rolls his eyes at her and walks away.

"You're so weird."

The current weather in the dream is regular. It's almost peaceful, one could say. The trees are near the end of their green stage, the grass is the same, and the wind picks up every now and then, battling the diminishing power of the sun. Clouds roll past merrily, occasionally exchanging small puffs of themselves with neighbors.

After noon, Nadeshiko stands near a bush, fiddling with a leaf stuck in her hair. Hitsugaya watches her from the porch, again catching himself in the illusion that the dream is reality. In a minute, though, the memory passes and he returns to staring at her with a blank face.

Nadeshiko frowns and gives up on removing the leaf. She runs over to Hitsugaya, He looks at the leaf.

"You need me to take that out?"

"Yes, please."

Hitsugaya reaches over and tries to pull the leaf out, but it's tangled within many strands of her hair. Carefully, he attempts to weave it out, but only succeeds in burying it further.

"How did you get this in your hair?" he asks.

Nadeshiko turns towards him. "Is it tangled?"

"Yeah." Hitsugaya tugs at the leaf again, and it splits into two pieces. "Now it's broken."

"Hmm…" Nadeshiko pulled her hair until she could see the leaf pieces out of the corner of her eye. "Should you cut it...?"

"No."

"But—"

"You shouldn't cut your hair."

"Why?"

"…It'll look weird." Hitsugaya reaches into her hair and breaks the leaf halves into fourths. "I'll just break it more and pull the little pieces out."

Hitsugaya continues to split the pieces until they're small, and then picks them out one by one. When he finishes, he pulls his hand through Nadeshiko's hair to straighten it. She wears a big grin while he does this, making him suspicious.

"What's that smile for?" he asks, removing his hands.

"It's getting cooler."

"And?"

"It snows here, doesn't it?"

Hitsugaya nods. Nadeshiko leans toward him, making him lean away.

"So," she grins further. "Your birthday is coming, isn't it?"

Hitsugaya raises an eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

"You look like you were born in winter. What month is it?"

"December."

"I was right!" Nadeshiko pauses. "What month is it now?"

"…What month was it when you came here?"

Nadeshiko backs out of his bubble of space and starts counting something on her fingers. She stops on three, makes a face, and starts over. Hitsugaya watches her repeat it a few more times before placing his hand over hers to make her stop.

"You won't remember."

She furrows her brow. "Why aren't I? My memories are gradually disappearing…" Nadeshiko trails off, and then smiles. "It's not that important."

Hitsugaya smiles in return and nods. "It happens to everyone. You won't remember much."

"I'm fine with that."

"Really…"

He leans forward and stays quiet for a few second, and then a mischievous idea pops into his head.

"…Want to play a game, Nadeshiko?"

"What game?"

"Hide-and-seek. You hide first."

Nadeshiko stands, smiling. "Count to one-hundred."

She runs off while Hitsugaya covers his eyes and counts slowly. When he reaches fifty, he stops and looks around to see if Nadeshiko hid anywhere nearby. He confirms that she didn't, and then goes to the nearest bush to collect leaves.

Nadeshiko looks out from the bush she's under nearly four hours later, and crawls out. Immediately after she emerges, a shower of leaves fall down onto her head, and she falls to the ground. Hitsugaya laughs from in the tree, jumps off, and runs away before Nadeshiko can see him.

Nadeshiko frowns, irritated. She stubbornly crosses her arms and sits down on the grass without making an effort to remove the leaves from her hair. After closing her eyes, she tries to listen for Hitsugaya's footsteps, but he is already too far away for her to hear. Still, she waits for him, growing bored five minutes later and lying down.

Hitsugaya stops back at his home to catch his breath, and sees his grandmother standing at the doorway. Panting, he looks up at her.

"Hi, Granny."

"Toushiro," she squints past him. "Where's Nadeshiko-chan?"

"We're playing hide-and-seek."

"Oh, alright." She smiles. "Find her fast so she doesn't hurt herself."

"I already…" Hitsugaya turns around, just then noticing Nadeshiko didn't follow him.

"Did you say something, Toushiro?"

"…I didn't. I'll go find Nadeshiko now."

Hitsugaya's grandmother waves to his back as he walks back into the forest. "Have fun."

In the distance, Hitsugaya can hear Nadeshiko's voice shout 'seven', but he can't figure out why. He continues toward her voice, trying to remember where exactly she was. A second later, he hears the sound of someone falling onto the ground to his right. He turns and moves through the rows of bushes until he reaches a small patch of grass and sees Nadeshiko sitting in the middle of it.

"I found you," Hitsugaya said as he walked to her side. Once he reaches her side, he sees a pool of blood on the ground near her foot. He kneels and points to her foot, a panicked look on his face. "How did you get this?"

Nadeshiko tries to keep her eyes open and answer, but her eyes close and she falls onto his shoulder. "I…stepped on a rock," she says, barely above a whisper. "It was sharp."

Hitsugaya pulls the sash from around his waist and wraps it around the wound on Nadeshiko's foot just as she falls unconscious and runs to bring her back. At home, his grandmother scolds him while she treats the gash. Hitsugaya doesn't say anything in defense, regretting playing the prank on Nadeshiko.

Later in the day, when it is approaching dark, Nadeshiko wakes up and brings herself to a sitting position. Hitsugaya gives her a relieved smile, and then hangs his head.

"Granny says you could have died like that."

Nadeshiko turns to him. "I could've died?"

"You would've bled to death." Hitsugaya pauses. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I—"

"It's not okay." Hitsugaya crosses his arms and raises his head, scowling. "I'm responsible for you since you can't tell if you get hurt. I can't let you get hurt like that again. You have to be more careful where you walk. You should be wearing shoes!"

Nadeshiko tunes him out and starts looking him over, taking special notice in his hair.

"Starting tomorrow," Hitsugaya continues, "you'll start wearing sandals. And you shouldn't be outside unless someone is with you, nor should you be near the water…" Hitsugaya stops, noticing that Nadeshiko seems to be staring into space. He frowns, narrowing his eyes at her. "Nadeshiko, are you even paying attention?'

She flinches as her attention switches to his words instead of his looks. "Yes."

"Then answer my question."

"…Can you repeat it?"

"No."

"Can you tell me if it was a yes or no question?"

"No."

"…Then I can't answer."

"You weren't paying attention."

Nadeshiko bows her head, blushing. "Sorry."

Hitsugaya sighs. "Just be more careful from now on. And yell for me if you notice that you got hurt. I don't want you to be near death again. You're fragile."

"Aww, you care." Nadeshiko smiles and receives a serious look from Hitsugaya. "Fine, I'll try not to step on any sharp objects." Nadeshiko's smile falls. Something about Hitsugaya's words annoys her. "And I suppose you're gonna be my bodyguard from now on?"

"Since you can't—"

"I've been living with this my whole life. Just because I've died doesn't mean anything changed about how my body deals with injuries. I don't need protection from anyone."

"What happens if you're unable to help yourself?" Hitsugaya raises his voice. "If you have too much pride to ask anyone for help you'll die!"

"I won't need help!" Nadeshiko raises her voice as well, coating it with anger. "Unlike everyone else, I can move if I'm hurt because I'm not restricted by pain. The only reason I bled so much today was because I was waiting for help! I've forgotten most of it by now, but I know I've dealt with worse injuries than this all on my own."

"If you don't need help, then what would you have done if I didn't come?"

"If I wasn't waiting for you to come then I wouldn't have any problem!"

"You would've gotten your foot infected if I didn't carry you!"

"My immune system—" Nadeshiko stops and looks down at herself. "You carried me?"

Hitsugaya pauses, taken aback by her sudden mood change. "Yeah, I did."

"Really?" The anger disappears from Nadeshiko's voice and is replaced with excitement. Hitsugaya smirks, feeling prideful.

"You're not that heavy."

Nadeshiko holds out her arms and smiles. "Carry me again."

"…Alright."

Hitsugaya shifts his position so he can take Nadeshiko into his arms and then stands.

"You're so strong!" She beams, putting her face close to his. "Spin me!"

He stays put and immediately senses something strange with the way his mind doesn't feel connected to his mouth anymore. "I'm not going to."

Nadeshiko blushes. "Why?"

"Because…I get the feeling…I'll break you." Hitsugaya makes pauses in his speech from the strain of trying to stop speaking.

"I already told you—"

"I know, it's just…don't do anything dangerous, okay?" Hitsugaya smiles. "Like I said, you're fragile."

Nadeshiko stares at him for a while longer before blushing and turning away, trying to hide her smile. "Okay, Toushiro."

"Let's go outside."

Nadeshiko nods, and Hitsugaya carries her outside to the porch. While they sit there, saying nothing, Nadeshiko is receiving the first of her 'fluttery' feelings, and Hitsugaya is experiencing anxiety. He feels intimidated by the fact that the words he'd said a minute ago were not any words he'd said ever while with Nadeshiko. He knew Sara and Sera had something to do with the change, but he, for some reason, can't bring himself to care.

"Sara?" Sera entered the room her sister was in, careful not to step on a sheet of paper. "Are you altering something?"

Sara laughed, turning around to face Sera. "Just returning a favor."

"…Alright." Sera raised a wand. "I finished this for you. Here."

She tossed it across the room into Sara's hand. Sara smiled, turned back around, and lifted the wand into the air to test its usefulness.

"Thanks, Sera. Your crafting is as good as ever. I can't wait to see how your staff turns out."

Sera smiled and left the room. Once outside, she ran down the hall into a room far on the other side of the academy. There, she had a day's worth of collected wood, each piece ranging in size, height, and sturdiness. She looked over each of them carefully, again checking her mental list.

Dreamwood, as the sleepers call it, is a wood only found in a Sleeper-to-be's mind. It is extractable from the nearby trees through a process that only Sera knew. She had been her community's crafter, and now, her dreamwood identification skills were dull. She knew which type of staff she wanted to make; it was something she had never even attempted before, though she very much knew how to.

Quickly, she sat down before an especially dark log and took her knife out to start carving. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder whenever it sounded like Sara was about to come in, although Sara knew just how much Sera appreciated privacy when whittling. For her plan that took her nearly two dream months to fully think through, she had to prepare.

Author:

I think I'm getting the hang of this tense change. Either way, it must be pretty confusing for you guys! Hitsugaya and Nadeshiko's parts are in present tense, and Sara and Sera's parts are in past tense. Must be rough, but think of the prologue, it'll help until I explain...two chapter later? Probably.

Oh, and two chapters later, if you don't understand the reason for the tense shift, and even if you do, will be one confusing read. I should add a warning label to it, but that's for the future. Now's the time for potential questions that arise.

WAIT what happened to Hitsugaya's arm?(Sara and/or Sera, your pick) And the time shift? (Sara and/or Sera, your pick) What about the tense? (Look back to the prologue) Hitsugaya's weird speaking moment up there? (Sara, as it hints)

All those are hinted at, but not confirmed. They're truths and/or lies, your pick.

You scroll down and poke the button.

The window comes, and you start to speak.

But...oopsadaisy.

Itlookslikeyourspacebarbroke.

But,doesitreallymatter?

Miracle-eaterscanstillreaditanyway.