Sakura sat up straight in her bed, screaming, clutching the sides of the pillow she had once been hugging tightly against her chest. Pained breaths escaped her mouth, as if she was running extremely low on a supply of oxygen.

She let out another scream, this time lower than the first, doing so just for the sake of concluding that she was, indeed, truly awake. She narrowed her eyes at what lay before her, turning her head and looking around the room.

She was back in her bedroom.

'Thank God…' she managed to mumble silently. She wasn't quite so sure afterwards to what god she should especially be thanking, but at that moment it didn't seem to matter. She was just simply glad that she never really had been out of this small, safe haven. 'Just another bad dream…' she concluded, pushing her sheets aside and bringing herself to the front of the mirror.

Her hair was an awful, terrible mess. She decided that it was mostly because of the recent terrible nightmares she has been having as of late—plus that, and perhaps the lack of sleep. The eye bags beneath her eyes weren't quite so prominent, but to her they were still quite visible. Perhaps she'd just have to put on a dab of concealer.

It took her longer than usual to get dressed today. It was as if some sort of invisible spirit was muttering in her ear to 'avoid the outdoors'—all the while trying to tie her legs within the confines of her house. Perhaps it was mere laziness, or her slight dislike for the crowds. She never really was a people person, after all—she often found large numbers of people to be quite tiring.

Nevertheless, she got herself out of the house, despite all the negating forces trying to prevent herself from doing so. Besides, it seemed to be quite a nice day to at least catch some fresh air—the sun seemed to be quite so promising, and the sky in entirety seemed to foretell a chance of no downpour. She shrugged aside all thoughts of negativity that seemed to pervade her mind, and took a slightly cautious, slightly hesitant step outside. 'So far, so good…' she told herself, as if she was the man who took a step on the moon.

Though she herself agreed that it wasn't really the best day to spend snuggled indoors, she seemed to be attracted to the bookstore that adorned a particular section of the city that she lived in. Though bookstores were technically some sort of indoors in the great outdoors, she concluded that they were, nevertheless, located quite far from her own home, and decided it would be best if she were to stay at least perhaps an hour or so inside the warm ambiance of a thousand books.

Spotting one in the corner of her eye, she turned around and walked towards it—not hastily, but not slowly, either. She wouldn't want to look overexcited in the thought of staying inside a store for a prolonged time.

Sakura never once had cast her glance towards the darkening sky above—her view was obstructed by the many buildings that rose up from the ground, and her eyes were set on the store itself.

Perhaps she had never noticed it, but she had indeed been walking in quite a hurry, bumping into a few people as she made her way across the street. Though, of course, given her gentle nature, she would give a small, quick apology. She was nearly reaching the last leg of what seemed like a long race of crossing the street when she ran into a taller man.

"Ow… I-I'm sorry…" she quickly mumbled, apologizing profusely in her language, and taking an apologetic bow.

"…i-it's alright, I suppose it was quite my fault as it was yours."

The voice made Sakura perk her head up. She blinked twice, somewhat unable to believe the existence of the person who was standing just before her.

Soft, slightly ruffled blonde hair, deep, dark green eyes, the thick eyebrows… the height, the build.

The voice.

It was the man—the strange being—from her dreams.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion and fright, cocking her head slightly to a side.

This man had such a striking resemblance to that person who so belonged in her dreams—her haunting nightmares…

Yet there still seemed to be something off about him…

Ah, she knew what it was.

The man in her dreams often had an evil grin plastered on their mischievous face, baring long, sharp fangs that seemed to threaten her existence.

The man before her, though, wore a frown instead of a smirk.

Perhaps it was just her, but this man, albeit his somewhat unwelcoming facial expression, seemed more softer than that wicked creature wrought from her nightmares…

"I-Is there something wrong, Miss…?"

His voice had, once again, knocked Sakura out of her thoughts.

"Is there something on my face…?" he asked, gesturing to his face, his frown worsening.

Sakura shook her head and smiled apologetically. 'A foreigner…' she had just then remembered. She should be more careful when deciding to use her own language—they mightn't be able to understand it. "There's nothing on your face, sir…-" she replied, trying to widen the smile on her face. 'I just happened to get lost in my thoughts…'

The man seemed to lean back, sighing in what she thought was relief. "…for a moment I thought there was…" he mumbled quietly to himself.

Sakura took a quick glance at the bookstore across the street. It seemed so distant now—she felt like she had betrayed it to somewhat gain the acquaintance of what might possibly be a dangerous stranger.

The man turned back to her, this time smiling warmly. "Again, I apologise for having had hindered you from going to wherever you are to go," he said, nodding his head lightly. She shook her head. "I-It's not a problem—No problem at all."

As soon as she had said those words, the man quickly shot his glance up at the sky, the frown returning on his features. "Oh, no…" he mumbled audibly.

Sakura could only tilt her head in question to his actions. "I-Is there something—"

"Quick, we have to get out of here—the rain's about to fall," he remarked. Without another word, he grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulling her out of the crowd, and looking for a place to take shelter in.

She didn't know why, but she allowed herself to be dragged around. Though his fabricated memories in her dreams seemed to prove him to be quite a dangerous person, she decided to trust this person quickly. She ran with him as the rain began to pour, matching his long strides with her short, yet quick, ones.

"By the way, what did you say your name was…?" the man asked her, never even once looking back at her as he guided her along the streets.

Sakura blinked, hesitantly wanting to tell the answer.

"Sakura Honda."