He bolted from his futon like he was struck by lightning. The girl next to him groaned a bit and rolled over to his spot, which was still warm. He didn't know her name, and he didn't care. The last time he had remembered a girl's name, she said she would forget him. But he could never forget her. After two years, she still poisoned his dreams and made him wake up every day, hoping to die. He should have said something when she left, but all that came out was "Will you forget?" And she would. Of that he was certain.

He got up and reached for a pitcher of water and a cup. Tonight's dream had been particularly disturbing. It had to do with her and some boys from her world, the very same boys he'd been jealous of all those years ago. Hojo was the boy he'd been most suspicious of, in the beginning, but in the dream he was just standing watch, letting his brother Hiko do the dirty work.

As he paced around the room and gulped down his water, the dream occupied his thoughts…

Dream

She was strapped to a board. The board was propped up against the metal frame of a scorched car. Both she and the boys were outside, in an alley surrounded by trash and grimy walls. It was a slum. The taller of the boys looked up at the stars. They were the only bright lights in this bleak area of town. He yelled for his brother.

"Hojo!" His brother scrambled to him. "It's a nice night for another beating, isn't it?"

"Y- yes, brother, that it is."

"But she is boring me."

"I un- understand."

"This is the end for her." He squared his shoulders and smiled at the beaten girl in pleasure. "Keep watch." With that brusque command, the elder brother took out a weapon that looked all sorts of lethal. He aimed for her center, and shot. Her torso exploded like a firecracker at a summer festival…

Dream End

He put on his kimono and made his way towards the well. He knew the way like the back of his hand, even in the dark. By the time he got to the edge of the well, dawn was creeping over the sky and pink-tinted clouds were lifting the darkness from the clearing. He hacked away at the trees and vines that had grown over the well since it had ceased to be used. Would he get there in time? He didn't even know if his dream was real. The only thing he knew was that he felt he had to save her, save the girl who walked away with his soul in her hands.

He jumped through the well; after the customary flash of blue light, he appeared in the well house of her family. He sprinted up the steps and out of the well house; the dream had taken place in an alley. He searched three blocks before he found the grimy slum; the boy called Hojo was standing watch. The man called Hiko was aiming that horrendous weapon at her chest. He spoke clearly, as he had in the dream.

"This is the end for her."

Andthe manshot her; shot her with no hesitation.The hiding, golden-eyed boyrushed to catch her before she fell down; all he saw in her dulled browneyes before she passed out was gratitude.