Thanks for the *cough* TWO reviews. Don't get me wrong I'm very grateful for them, but I can't help but want more! There'll be more chapters to come, so please review!
Kagura sighed as she stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't looking forward to sleep, though she'd been getting much more of it lately.
Though poor Hikaru's getting less and less. She thought sadly. He'd been walking around slowly, as though he were always half-asleep. Whenever she spoke to him, it would take him a while to respond.
But why does he keep having that nightmare, again and again? She wondered. Nightmares weren't something you got used to, no matter how many times you had them.
With a resigned, hopeless sigh she closed her eyes, sinking into Hikaru's subconscious.
Kagura watched Hikaru search the town, her heart cracking in pity. He did this every night, as though he hoped he would find whatever he was looking for.
Maybe if I helped him though… an idea occurred in her mind and she grinned broadly. It was the perfect plan; she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before!
She took off running in the direction of the church, remembering the way. She was well ahead of Hikaru; he was still searching the town.
She entered the church and quietly headed to the table he always came to look underneath, only to find nothing.
Imagine his surprise when he finds me here. Kagura grinned as she sat down. He won't be alone here anymore.
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Hikaru dragged his feet towards the church; he knew nothing would be there, but he couldn't help but hope that maybe, just maybe, Haruhi would be there.
He walked slowly down the church aisle, turning his head from side to side as he looked around, refusing to let his little flame of hope die just yet.
He stopped in front of the table and took a deep breath before peering under.
"Hi!" He nearly jumped out of skin when Kagura stuck her head out and grinned up at him.
"Kagura?! What are you doing here?" Hikaru asked, too surprised to think clearly.
"I'm here to keep you company! You're always so alone here, so I figured that I should come to you and stop the nightmare." Kagura explained, her eyes shining. Hikaru's heart beat faster at the mention of the ending of this nightmare, but then he felt a wave of confusion.
How did she know I was having nightmares? He almost asked, but then he remembered this was a dream; anything could happen.
So, not knowing what else to do, he sat down beside Kagura, grateful for her presence. She sat quietly, twiddling her thumbs and fidgeting slightly. She didn't say anything for a long time, and neither did Hikaru. Deep down, he was terrified if he spoke a word he would break the spell and she would disappear, leaving him in the darkness once again.
"Hey, Hikaru?" She finally said, turning towards him. "Yeah?" Hikaru asked warily. "Why do you keep coming here?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. He smiled slightly, thinking that she looked remarkably like Haruhi, if not cuter.
"I keep coming here because this is where Haruhi should be; right where you're sitting." He explained, a bit irritated that this dream person didn't know everything. Oh well. At least it kept the dream from being boring.
"Oh. But why do you keep looking for her?" She asked, drawing her knees up and resting her head on them, curling her arms around her legs.
"Because I lost her." Hikaru said softly, clenching his fists. "I abandoned her, leaving her alone in the rain." He was glad of the opportunity to speak about this with another person; even though this person wasn't real, it helped him sort out his feelings without embarrassing himself.
"That was pretty low." Kagura said bluntly. Hikaru sighed. "I know. It's just, she was talking to a friend of hers, and I got so jealous I just…" He drew off, rubbing his temples.
"Jealous? Why, do you like her or something?" Kagura asked, obviously surprised. Hikaru sighed and leaned back on his hands.
"I don't just like her." He said softly. "I love her." It felt surprisingly good to say it aloud. And since she was a dream person, she wouldn't be amused or blurt it out to anyone.
"Really?" Kagura's eyes were wide. "Why? She's nice and all, but I never really got to know her well, I guess." She shrugged, and Hikaru thought it was an odd statement from a person in his dreams.
Dreams aren't supposed to make sense, I guess. He shrugged mentally. Remembering her question, he sighed.
"I love everything about her… her smile, the way her eyes light up when she gets a good grade, her laugh, the way her hair moves when she turns to look at me…" He stared into space dreamily, a picture of a smiling Haruhi entering his mind.
"You really care about her." Kagura said warmly and Hikaru smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I'd do anything for her, but she doesn't love me back." His smile faded and Kagura placed her hand on his.
"Don't give up! Remember; feelings won't be known until you voice them." She said firmly and Hikaru stared at her. Kaoru had said nearly the exact same thing; and he'd never told him just how much he liked Haruhi.
"Tell me more about her." Kagura said, lying down. Hikaru imitated her, and they both propped their heads up with their hands, their faces mere inches apart.
"Why?" Hikaru asked. "I like how happy you get when you talk about her." Kagura smiled. Hikaru smiled too, and happily plunged into more stories about Haruhi.
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Kagura twisted her fork as she sat at the breakfast table, staring off into space. She glanced at Hikaru and smiled slightly to herself. He looked much happier today; his eyes were brighter, and he smiled more often.
She had no intentions of telling him that it was really her in his dreams, not just a dream person as he obviously thought. He might stop talking to her then; and she didn't want that at all.
Oh no. She thought suddenly, her eyes widening. Am I falling in love with him?
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Kaoru and Hikaru sat on their horses, overlooking Arisa's territory. Kaoru was riding Jupiter this time, while Hikaru sat astride Aiode, bareback.
"I still find it amazing you got that horse to let you ride him." Kaoru said, shaking his head and smiling slightly.
"Me too." Hikaru agreed, patting Aiode's neck gently. "He's really taken to you." Kaoru added. "Not sure why though." Hikaru shrugged. "Duh, you're the only one who's really proved you're not going to hurt him since he got here." Kaoru pointed out and Hikaru blinked thoughtfully. That was true.
"So does he not like tack or do you not like tack?" Kaoru asked, eyeing how Hikaru was riding with only a soft cotton hackamore to guide the stallion.
"Both. I like this way better; you can feel the horse more." Hikaru explained. "Good thing you've got great balance." Kaoru pointed out. Hikaru nodded fervently. "He's still not completely comfortable; he bucks now and then." He said.
"Arisa still thinks you slipped something in his feed." Kaoru said with a laugh. Hikaru grinned too. "She's just jealous."
"We all are. We're all playing cowboy on our little ponies while you tame a wild stallion." Kaoru said. "Showoff." He added with a grin.
"Race you home?" Hikaru asked abruptly, turning Aiode around. "You're on!" Kaoru grinned, urging Jupiter on before Hikaru could call the start.
"Hey! No fair!" Hikaru cried, nudging Aiode. The stallion needed little encouragement; he leaped after Jupiter with his ears pricked forward, barely putting any effort into his stride as he easily swept past Kaoru.
As soon as he was past Kaoru though, he slowed his pace dramatically, looking over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" Hikaru hissed, trying to get Aiode to speed up but the stallion snorted and shook his head, slowing to a complete halt.
As Jupiter caught up Aiode sped up again, staying right beside the slightly larger gelding.
"Guess he doesn't like being alone." Kaoru grinned, slowing down his horse.
"Guess not." Hikaru agreed. He guessed that since Aiode'd been alone for so long, kept in the round pen, he'd missed being around other horses.
As they approached the barn, Aiode pricked up his ears and sped up, pulling on the reins.
"I think he knows it's dinnertime." Hikaru grinned, slipping off Aiode and leading him the rest of the way to the barn.
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Kagura and Hikaru stepped outside the church, looking around cautiously.
"Remember, Hikaru." Kagura said softly. "This is your dream; you hold the power here." She reminded him. Hikaru closed his eyes and Kagura held her breath, hoping the rain would let up. It'd been her idea to have him try to change the dream; they'd both gotten bored with the church.
Suddenly the scene around them quivered and Kagura's eyes widened as she found herself on a beautiful beach, staring at multicolored waters as the sun sank behind them. She looked down and saw she was wearing a cute, short pink sundress.
"Hikaru, what am I wearing?" She demanded, scowling at the frilliness. "Just an experiment." Hikaru grinned. "Apparently I can change you too." Kagura's eyes widened with shock. This was something she hadn't expected.
"Wait, since you're technically not a real person, I can change who you are, can't I?" He asked. Kagura bit her lip. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of him messing with her appearance, but hey, whatever made him happy.
"I guess." She shrugged and immediately she felt different. She felt more delicate, and her hair was much shorter.
"Maybe I should change the hair." Hikaru said thoughtfully. Her hair grew longer, down past her shoulders.
"Hikaru…" She said warily, and pressed a hand to her lips. That voice wasn't hers. Hikaru grinned down at her. "In case you didn't guess, I changed you to Haruhi." He said triumphantly. Kagura blushed slightly at the longing look he gave her.
"I've never seen Haruhi really blush before." He murmured, drawing a finger down her cheek and she shivered. He smiled. "That's cute too. You know, you're almost better then the real Haruhi." He said with a laugh.
"Because you know what I can't do with the real Haruhi?"
"What's that?"
"This."
Hikaru leaned forward and kissed her.
Kagura's eyes flew wide with shock at the electricity that flared up in her at his touch, but her eyes soon drifted shut and she curled her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything she had.
Maybe pretending to be Haruhi isn't so bad…
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Hikaru awoke the next morning with a goofy grin plastered on his face. Kaoru, who'd woken up first, glanced at him and smiled.
"Good dream?" He asked, stretching. Hikaru nodded as he sat up. "The best." He groaned as he stretched his arms above his head.
"That's good to hear. What was it about?" Kaoru asked curiously. Hikaru smiled, remembering. "Haruhi." He admitted, and Kaoru laughed. "I should have guessed." He grinned. "Well, it's great to know your nightmares are gone." Kaoru said, standing up as he went to go find a shirt.
I guess my nightmares are gone now. Thanks to you, Kagura.
Gomen for maybe paying a bit too much attention to the horses; that's why I kept this chapter short, because I had to delete a bunch of stuff about the horses. I repeat; gomen! I tried my hardest- please let me know if I did too much with the horses; I've just fallen in love with Aiode. Whoops, there I go again, rambling on and on. I'll shut up now and let you review.
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