When We Were Dreaming
Summary: This story is about that awkward moment when two insanely powerful individuals realize they have technically grown up together despite their births being a millennia apart and one was practically born to be the other's enemy. Needless to say, NO ONE was expecting THIS. The Fates really liked their games, it seemed.
It all started with a boy and a finger ...
No, that isn't right. Let's try again.
It all started one cloudless and yet starless night. It was December 7th, year 1989, and the balance of the whole world shifted with one piercing cry in the night, signaling the birth of an individual none could comprehend the existence of.
Wait, no, that's too early! If we're going to tell this story properly, we have to start it right! Let's give it another try.
It started when a reject from one of the Big Clans first laid eyes on the miracle child of another and vice versa.
No, that's already too late in the story! Try again.
It all started in the tumultuous Heian era, where curses roamed free while sorcerers struggled to keep up-
No, that's wrong again, because it's even earlier than the last one! The story can't start there, because it won't make sense! Okay, one more time and this time, do it right!
Okay, so, in reality, it all started one unassuming night while a certain white-haired child of a tender age of four winters was sleeping ...
He woke up to the distant chirping of birds going to bed and the sky painted in beautiful shades of gold and red. This confused him, as he knew he'd gone to sleep long after the sky had turned dark, the Moon the only light source in the heavens, painting the clouds drifting close enough to it in its milky rays. He knew it couldn't be morning already, because the sky was a different shade at sunrise than it was when the sun was setting.
And he knew he shouldn't be able to see the sky right above him, as he'd gone to sleep in his very comfy, warm bed in his cozy, very-much roofed room. A room he currently was not in, as he seemed to be in the middle of some forest he was not familiar with, meaning he was not near his clan's compound.
He immediately knew something was wrong. Either one, he'd been kidnapped, as many had attempted over just the past year, or two, he'd sleep-walked, something he'd never done before, which means the first option was all the more likely. Options three and four were also possible, but not all too probable. Option three was that he'd accidentally teleported himself to some random place with the new technique he was learning and option four was that the compound was yet again attacked by cursed spirits drawn to his energy and so he'd been carried out of the bloodbath potentially happening back at the compound. It wouldn't be the first time, but he was actually already strong enough to defend himself and any servants and guards that might have been assigned to watch over him, so there's really no reason for them to remove him when he is actually their best chance of winning.
Unless they were being attacked by humans. That's a whole other story.
But if that were the case, then where were his servants and guards? Why was he alone? None of his family's servants would actually dare leave him behind to run for their lives. If anything happened to him, they'd be dead anyways.
He decided he was suspicious and didn't like this, not one bit.
Observing his surroundings didn't really help. He could see and sense plenty of humans in the not so far distance, but he could also see and sense plenty of curses. They roamed around so freely, as though they weren't aware of sorcerers prowling about ready to hunt them down and exorcise them. The humans mulled about as though they were none the wiser of their presence, too.
In all other directions, there seems to be only forest, wildlife and more curses, though these ones seemed weaker, probably because they don't get to feed as much as the others in the human settlement, where they have a constant supply of all of humanity's negative emotions to feed on. Whether he likes it or not, he'll have to go to the unfamiliar people and hope someone will be able to reach his family.
As he gets to his feet, he notices that he's wearing a kimono that he's never seen before. It's snow white, but it has burning blue flames that resemble cursed energy dancing up the hems and it seems that snowflakes of the same color are raining down from his shoulders towards his waist. It seems like a weird but cool combination. He decides he likes it but it seems to sit a bit uncomfortably on his hips, as if the obi had been tilted weirdly. He tries to adjust it, but a sharp tug makes him yelp in sudden discomfort bordering on pain that is completely unfamiliar to him. He turns around and just manages to catch a glimpse of fluffy white when, suddenly, something crashes through the foliage that had been surrounding the place where he'd woken up.
He immediately fell into the fighting stance he was only just learning, ready to fight even if he wasn't entirely sure he can do more than fling unadulterated cursed energy at his opponent - though that, in itself, is deadly, seeing who it's coming from - and glared at the ...
Older boy with leaves stuck in his hair and his yukata dirty?
The boy was strange. His skin tone was more tanned than he was used to seeing, so he concluded he must be a farm boy or something, working long hours out in the sun or something. He was tall, way taller than him, and probably older, too. He had weird hair. It resembled the color of peaches, but maybe not quite. He was lanky but his shoulders were wide, so he's definitely doing some hard work.
Was he one of the local farmers that his family had deals with for the best fresh, organic products?
Was he here because he's searching for him? His family must have put out a reward for his safe return! But how long has it been? Certainly a day, at least, seeing as it had already been night when he'd gone to sleep, not dusk.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when the boy spotted him, startling red eyes meeting unrealistic blue. The older boy pointed at him. "Aha! So you were the source of the light that scared my neighbor's chickens! Prepare yourself, curse, because I will not exorcise you!"
Okay, so he knew about cursed spirits, but he was clearly stupid if he thought he looked anything like a curse. Frankly, he was insulted. He'd always been told he was beautiful and cute, so who was this peasant boy comparing him to a curse!? "Excuse me, but do I look like a curse to you?"
The peach-haired boy faltered, narrowing his eyes, seemingly confused. "Huh? Why are you talking so weird? I can barely understand you." Blue eyes rolled. If anyone was talking weird, it was the older boy, because he was using an archaic accent or something that he was forced to learn by the tutors the elders of his clan had hired to teach him. "And besides, you don't exactly look human, so please excuse me if I made a mistake! Though, I guess I really should have known better. You look pretty, not ugly."
He narrowed his eyes, this time it being his turn to be confused. What did he mean about not looking exactly huma- Then he remembered the glimpse of white fluff and immediately, a hand shot behind his back. He nearly yelped again when he grabbed something incredibly soft and fluffy and warm and alive and attached to himself. He twisted to stare at his backside in disbelief, because there, sprouting from his butt, were six majestic fox tails, white as his hair and his eyelashes, like freshly fallen snow. A hand immediately shoots up to his head and he feels what he presumes are fox ears on top of his head, twitching against and away from his fingers.
It is at this point that he concludes he must be dreaming. He's never really dreamed before. A sort of side effect from his innate cursed technique or something, so this was definitely new. Does this mean he'll start dreaming on the regular from now on? How exciting!
"Oi, what are you doing?" The boy from his dream asks and he turns to give him his full attention after he'd finished inspecting his new appendages.
"Checking," he answers halfheartedly, not really sure what he should do. What does one do in dreams? Are there certain rules to follow? Is it normal for people to dream of becoming six-tailed foxes in their dreams?
"Is it all there? Did you get hurt when you fell from the heavens? Is that why you talk so strangely?" The boy asked in a concerned tone and the younger of the two just shook his head.
"I just ... don't know where I am or how to get back home." That was true enough. Maybe dreams are like video games? Was the boy supposed to be his guide throughout the dream so they can play and go on adventures and other things normal kids do? (Not that he actually knows what normal kids do. Only anime, manga and novels tell him what normal kids get to do while his life is filled with studying and training.)
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking? I don't mean to be rude, or anything, but I don't really know how to talk to an enlightened being," said the other awkwardly and he couldn't help but giggle. It made the peach-haired boy pout.
"You're doing fine. And I just turned four!"
"Really? So young? Or is that already old for spirits? Gah, I wish I'd paid more attention to my grandma when she used to tell me things like this," Peach-boy - it's easier to call him that - grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair, making it even messier than before. If he'd done that, the elders would look all disappointed and the servants would rush to groom him as if he's a prized horse or something. He doesn't really like the elders.
"How old are you?"
"I'm ten," the other replied proudly, buffing up his chest. "That means I'm six years older than you."
He scowled. "I know how to count and do basic math."
"Really? Can you, like, help me with some of the assignments the priest gave us as homework? I'm good with numbers up to one hundred but everything after that somehow doesn't make sense."
"Why would a priest give you math problems for homework?" That just sounded silly to him. Tutors and teachers give homework, not priests.
"Well, because I'm going to be a jujutsu sorcerer and the priest I'm learning under insists we have a formal education as well because sorcerers can't be uneducated!" Declared the other with gusto. "He used to work at a school in Kyoto, so he knows his stuff, but he's super strict, especially with math. My friends are even worse than me at it!"
"I don't think I can imagine that," he replied, because math is easy. Well, to him, at least. The numbers just click and make sense, especially if one's looking at all the real numbers. Infinity is fun.
"So, will you help me? In return, I promise to find a way to get you back home," Peach-boy said, offering a hand for him to shake. "We can even make a pact on it!"
He stared at the hand, hesitating. This was just a dream, right? Making a binding vow in a dream won't impact him in real life, right? "I don't even know your name."
"I don't know yours, either, and as much as I know, you should never tell your true name to a spirit because the spirit will never tell you their true name, either," considered Peach-boy. "So I guess ... You can call me Ryou! It's a nickname my friends often use and since we'll be helping each other, I guess that makes us friends."
Friends? He's never had friends. Tonight seems to be a night of firsts, even if it all only happened in his dream. He smiled at the exuberant older boy and took his hand. And because he wasn't a spirit and this was just a dream, he figured Ryou can know his true name, because if they're friend, they're supposed to know things like that about each other, right?
"My name's Satoru!"
Ryou grinned at him as they shook hands and Satoru both saw and felt a pact form. "Wow, you're strong, for a small, little runt."
Satoru grimaced at him. "Do you need help with grammar and reading, too?"
"How'd you know!?"
"Let's just do your homework already. When is it due?"
"Two days from now. We have fifty problems."
"Okay, then let's go."
But Ryou stopped him before he could venture out of the little clearing he'd woken up in. He gave the older boy an annoyed glare - which was more of a pout - but the older boy just said: "You can't go into the village looking like that!"
"Why not?" Whined the four year old.
"Because not all kitsune are good! What if someone thinks you're a bad kitsune and tries to hurt you, huh? I'd feel really bad that my new friend got hurt because of me."
"So what do you suggest I do? Wait for you here?"
Ryou light up like a light bulb. "Exactly! I'll be right back with my learning materials and I'll even bring us a snack! Any preferences?"
"Not really." He didn't want to ask for something that the peasant boy probably couldn't give him. That would just make things awkward and Satoru did not do awkward. It was awkward.
"Okay, I'll be right back! Don't go anywhere!" And the boy ran off, though Satoru could follow him with his eyes all the way back to the village he'd come from, which both was and wasn't all that far away. Satoru shouldn't be waiting for long, but it could be long enough to take a nap. Can one sleep when dreaming? Should he try? But what if he wakes up? He probably won't return to this place and he doesn't want to leave Ryou behind without a goodbye, at least.
So Satoru does his best to entertain himself, somehow. Luckily - or unluckily? - some curses get drawn to him like is the norm back home since he still can't fully mask his cursed energy and so he has something to do. He actually toys with them as opposed to how he usually swiftly deals with any curses that come near him. The one special grade that comes near him is freaked out by his appearance, but Satoru doesn't care. That one is swiftly taken care of because special grade cursed spirits are not something to joke about. Eventually, the cursed spirits peter out but soon afterward, Ryou's back, too, clutching a messy heap of papers and some stencils to his chest. Thankfully, he doesn't seem any worse for wear than the last time Satoru's seen him, so the younger boy relaxes.
Ryou makes a face when he enters Satoru's little clearing. "It reeks of curses here. What happened?" The white haired boy just shrugs. Ryou eyes him skeptically but let's it go. "I guess it's really not my place to judge what divine beings do in their free time. Anyway, can we get started on this? I don't like the idea of having to navigate the forest in the dark too much or the thought of sneaking into the village in the dead of the night. We're a paranoid bunch. Someone will definitely try to kill me, thinking I'm a bandit or a curse or something."
Satoru agreed, because he was bored again and math would at least give him something to occupy himself with. Then maybe they could play once Ryou's homework is finished!
Except Ryou's rather slow on the uptake, for some reason. Math came naturally to Satoru, and while he could just give Ryou the answers, Ryou wouldn't be learning anything like that. So Satoru tries to explain, but he's too new to math himself to have all the answers. The 'why's and 'how's are still a mystery to him but at least basic calculations are something he can explain. Ryou tended to whine about being close to the correct solution when he gets it wrong, which just lead to Satoru introducing him to the concept of infinity, which led to him retelling the logic behind the paradox of Achilles and the turtle and how even the difference of one can be quite a lot. Satoru took great glee in memorizing Ryou's face as he tried to comprehend that. He looked like his mind's been blown.
Now, it's not to say Ryou's stupid or anything. If anything, Ryou seems really smart. He memorizes the things Satoru tells him but something is blocking him from using those things in execution. Or maybe it's just that practice makes perfect? So far, Satoru had not encountered a skill he was not good at from practically the get-go. But he was special and different, or so everyone told him, so perhaps not everyone could learn math as quickly. But that's okay. Satoru can have patience with Ryou, even if some of his arguments as to why his clearly wrong answers are the correct ones make Satoru want to rip both of their hair out.
"This took a lot longer than I thought," both Ryou and Satoru comment at one point, when the moon has already passed its zenith and is slowly making to leave the sky, too, for the eastern horizon has already started lighting up with pre-dawn rays.
"Will you be okay getting home?" Satoru asks, recalling Ryou's earlier comment about not wanting to go sneaking around.
"Will you?" The older boy counters and Satoru narrows his eyes, annoyed. "Don't pout at me! You don't even know where you are, do you? How do you plan to go back to wherever you came from?"
Satoru didn't know, but he guessed he'd just ... wake up and be in his bed, just like how he'd gone to sleep. This was all just a dream, after all. Dreams end when you wake up. "I'll be fine."
"Maybe you should just come and sleep over at my house?" Ryou mused to himself while they collected his work sheets. And by 'they', Satoru meant Ryou, because Satoru was not used to picking after himself. The servants usually did it and always looked scandalized the second Satoru tried to do it by himself. Ryou didn't seem to mind.
"What about your neighbors? The other villagers? Didn't you say they might fear I am a bad kitsune and that they'd hurt me if they saw me?"
"Good point," the peach-haired boy said with a wince. "Should I ... Should I bring you out a blanket or something? Help you find a cave or a burrow to sleep in for tonight? Or I guess you could go to the old abandoned temple. People say the gods banished humans from the sacred grounds, but you're a piece of divinity, so I'm sure you'll be fine. But what if there are curses there? Then again, you do seem to have dealt with several curses while waiting for me-"
"I'll sleep here tonight," Satoru says decisively like the Clan Head he was meant to be one day. "It's not that cold out and my tails are warm and soft enough to act as pillows and coverings. And I'll be able to tell if someone gets too close to me, even if I'm asleep, so I'll be able to hide if they come near. Then, tomorrow, I guess we can check that temple out and exorcise any curses that might inhabit it and make it my residence." All of that assuming, of course, that this dream continues long enough for that decision to be carried out. Satoru doesn't know how long dreams last, but he still wanted to reassure his new friend that he'll be fine on his own. He doesn't want Ryou to get hurt or ill, even if he's not real and only a figment of his sleeping mind.
"You sure about that? I mean, what if you fall into a really deep sleep?"
The white haired boy proudly pointed towards his eyes. "I can see all the way to your village. Even if I have a consus- concasu- concrusion-"
"Concussion," supplied the 'human' to the 'kitsune'.
"Even if I have a concussion and am out cold, I'll still be able to tell if someone gets close and will automatically wake up!" Which was true and also the reason why servants and guards stationed around his room tried to stay as still as statues once he goes to bed, staying practically in the same position all night unless there's an emergency.
"Well, if you're sure," trailed off a bit uneasily Ryou, but accepted Satoru's insistence that he'll be fine anyway. "I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow!" Ryou called as he started trotting back towards his village, waving a hand over his shoulder as he went. Satoru waved back, despite not really knowing what the motion was supposed to represent but figured it was a thing people did when parting from friends.
Now, the real question was how Satoru was meant to sleep. One tail was too little for a comfortable pillow, but three tails were also too few for a sufficient blanket. Yes, it really wasn't all that cold out, but Satoru was a child used to luxury and comfort above everything else. This would be his first time sleeping on anything other than the most expensive, comfiest futon money can buy.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for him to curl up into a comfy ball, nuzzling into his new fur. It was really soft and fluffy and it lulled him to sleep before he could even notice.
He woke to sun rays falling onto his eyes as the usual servant came to wake him up, opening the curtains to let the light and the fresh air to enter his room. The chill of a winter morning was such a startling contrast to the pleasant heat of a summer night from his dream that he actually shuddered, huddling up into a little ball under his blankets.
He lamented that they were not the softest fur he'd ever had the pleasure to touch, his fur, his six white tails.
And he, Gojo Satoru, born with the Six Eyes and the Limitless, mourned that the dream was over.