Among a myriad of students taking their seats, a girl with brown hair tied up in twin tails and brown eyes takes her seat, located on the second-last row and one desk to the right from the classroom's window. To the right of her sits a blond girl with short hair and blue eyes. As the duo takes their seats, the blond-haired girl clicks her tongue. "Man, I can't wait for school to be over."
The twin-tailed girl chuckles in amusement. "School has barely started, Urotsuki."
The blond-haired girl, now known as Urotsuki, grunts in light frustration. "Exactly, which is why I just want it to be done with as soon as it can be and dream." Urotsuki then turned to the twin-tailed girl. "Speaking of which, Madotsuki, would ya like to dream with me after school?"
The twin-tailed girl, now known as Madotsuki, shakes her head. "As much as I'd like to see your dream worlds, not today. I had my fill yesterday, and I wouldn't want to impose on your parents on having yet another sleepover."
"Ah, come on, Madotsuki, my parents will never mind if you come over every day. Please?"
Before Madotsuki could answer, she was interrupted by the teacher speaking, who had short black hair and glasses. "May I have your attention, everyone? We will be receiving two transfer students today." The teacher then turned to the transfer students. "You may call me Mister Shibusawa. Would you like to introduce yourselves?"
The two transfer students were girls, one with brown hair and eyes and the other with yellow hair and eyes. They both nodded in response to Shibusawa's question, with the brown-haired girl being the first to introduce herself. "I am Usami Renko. Nice to meet you." Renko said as she politely bowed.
Once Renko introduced herself, the yellow-eyed girl was up next. "Name's Maribel Hearn. Nice to meet you." Maribel said as she bowed.
As Maribel finished bowing, she took a quick look around the classroom and eventually locked eyes with Madotsuki and Urotsuki. As the three locked eyes, a message Madotuski and Urotsuki were all too familiar with appeared in their minds.
A fellow dreamer.
While Madotsuki and urotsuki were used to the message at this point, Maribel gasped in surprise, causing Shibusawa and Renko to turn towards her.
"You alright, Maribel?" Shibusawa asked.
Maribel shook off her surprise and turned towards Shibusawa. "I'm fine, Mister Shibusawa. I just remembered something, that's all."
"If that is all, then once you two take your seats, class may officially begin."
Maribel nodded in response while Renko took a glance at Maribel before taking their seats, with Maribel taking the desk in front of Madotsuki and Renko taking the seat in front of Urotsuki. As Maribel and Renko took their seats, Madotsuki and Urotsuki looked at each other and nodded at each other, wordlessly deciding to break the news to Maribel at a later time.
During lunch break, as students began to eat their lunch, Madotsuki and Urotsuki looked at each other once more. Urotsuki raised her eyebrows, wordlessly asking if this was the time to break the news to Maribel. Madotsuki took a while to come up with a response, but before she could, she was interrupted by Maribel.
"Excuse me, you two?" Maribel asked, causing Madotsuki and Urotsuki to turn to Maribel. "I never managed to catch both of your names. Mind introducing yourselves?"
Madotsuki and Urotsuki glanced at each other before Madotsuki gestured that Urotsuki should go first. Urotsuki rolled her eyes in response, but despite her protests, she turned to Maribel. "Name's Urotsuki," Urotsuki said. "Nice to meet ya."
"Madotsuki," Madotsuki simply said.
"You likely have our names already, but my name's Maribel Hearn," Maribel said before gesturing towards Renko, "and my friend to my right is Usami Renko."
"Nice to meet you," Renko greeted.
Maribel gestured to Madotsuki, Renko, and Urotsuki to come closer, to which they did, and began to ask a question. "So about that message about us being dreamers… you know what that's about?"
Renko looked at Maribel in response to her question, wondering what that was but she decided to see how Maribel, Madotsuki, and Urotsuki would carry this conversation, so she stayed silent for now.
"Oh, that's simple, really," Urotsuki responded to Maribel. "It's exactly as it says. Mado and I are Dreamers, the same as you."
"Dreamers, huh?" Maribel rhetorically asked. "So you can explore these strange and lucid dreams as I can?"
"Yup, that's the gist of it."
"Do you know why we can immediately recognize that we're dreamers, Urotsuki?"
"No clue," Urotsuki responded as she shrugged. "Not that I really care. Did help with making Madotsuki here as a friend, though, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Really now, is that true?" Maribel asked as she turned to Madotsuki.
"It is," Madotsuki said as she nodded. "Wouldn't put it as strongly worded as Urotsuki did, but it did help in making usbecome friends."
"So, Maribel," Urotsuki said. "You able to manifest your Effects in the real world?"
"Huh?"/"What?" Maribel and Renko responded in confusion.
"Effects?" Urotsuki asked. "You know, the items you get on your journeys through your dreams that change your appearance and sometimes can do some extra things?"
"You can manifest them in the real world?" Renko asked, finally deciding to chime in.
"Wait, you can't, Renko?" Madotsuki asked Renko.
"I'm not a Dreamer," Renko asked, "I just know that Maribel has these special dreams that she keeps on talking about."
Madotsuki and Urotsuki turned to Maribel, unsure of what to say exactly.
Maribel, unnerved by the attention she got, asked a question. "Uh… did I do something wrong?"
"Not exactly…." Madotsuki responded.
"We just didn't expect you to share your dreams with a non-Dreamer, that's all," Urotsuki added. "After all, who'd believe that you constantly have hyper-lucid dreams that you can visit as easily as breathing?"
"If it can be proven, then anyone can believe that you can," Renko responded. "Though I do understand where you come from, it does sound pretty outlandish."
"Renko's younger sister also knows that I'm a dreamer," said Maribel.
""HUH!?"" Urotsuki and Renko loudly exclaimed in surprise as they stood up from their seats.
The class had gotten silent and looked at the commotion Urotsuki and Renko caused, causing them to sit down in embarrassment.
"Your sister also knows that Maribel's a dreamer?" Madotsuki asked more quietly.
"Yes, she does!" Renko hissed before turning to Maribel. "Don't bring Sumireko into this!"
"Why not?" Maribel asked.
"Because she'll definitely let it go to her head knowing that there are special people out there!"
"Your sister blabs about this to everyone, Renko?" Urotsuki asked.
Maribel and Renko froze as their trains of thought were stopped by Urotsuki's question. "Uh, kinda?" Renko added. "If it helps, anyone that isn't us just believes that she's a chuunibyou. Hell, up until you two came into our lives, I myself was pretty skeptical about Maribel's type of dreams."
"You didn't believe that Maribel's dreams didn't exist?" Urotsuki asked.
"No, I said 'type of dreams'," Renko said. "While I didn't doubt that she dreamt, I just didn't believe both the consistency and the hyper-lucidity of her dreams, that's all."
"When you put it like that, it does sound unbelievable," Madotsuki chimed in.
"Getting back to Urotsuki's question of manifesting Effects in the real world," Maribel said, "No, I haven't even thought of that. Are you even sure it's possible?"
"Yep," Urotsuki answered. "Of course, can't show them as proof, as they aren't exactly easy to hide, much less explain to non-Dreamers." Urotsuki then had a lightbulb pop up above her head as she had a sudden idea. "Hey, Madotsuki."
"Hm?" Madotsuki asked.
"Show your Knife-"
"No," Madotsuki instantly replied.
"But why, Madotsuki?"
"I don't want to get in trouble. Just because it's the easiest Effect to hide does not mean that I'm willing to risk wielding it in school of all places."
"Oh, right, haven't thought of that."
"But it is possible to manifest Effects in the real world, correct?" Maribel asked.
"Yep," Urotsuki replied, "Though if you do plan to use them, I'd recommend that you use the ones that are easier to explain away. After all, you wouldn't want to explain why you suddenly gained parts of an animal or suddenly have a motorbike despite you not actually owning one, now would ya?"
The school bell rang, signaling that the lunch break was over.
"Ah crap, I didn't get to finish my lunch!" Urotsuki said before wolfing down her lunch. Madotsuki chuckled at Urotsuki's expense as she also began to quickly finish her lunch at a slower and more refined pace.
Maribel and Renko, having finished their lunch before they decided to discuss the message Maribel got, simply cleaned up after themselves and put away their bentos. After Madotsuki and Urotsuki finished their lunch and quickly cleaned up after themselves, Maribel turned to the two dreamers and cleared her throat, getting their attention.
"Would you like to join the Secret Sealing Club?" Maribel asked the two dreamers as Renko looked at Maribel in surprise. "We could discuss this after school."
Urotsuki was quick to answer. "Sure, why not? Less likely for someone to overhear our conversations."
"I agree," Madotsuki simply added.
"So, Renko?" Maribel said as she turned to Renko. "Do you accept them into our fold?"
"Huh?" Renko asked before she shook herself out of surprise. "Uh, yeah, sure, they can come along."
"And with that," Maribel said as she turned to Madotsuki and Urotsuki, "welcome to the Secret Sealing Club."
After school is over, students usually attend extra-curricular activities in Japan. In one classroom, a certain meeting in a secret sealing club is taking place, with Madotsuki, Maribel, Renko, and Urotsuki sitting around a table, with the addition of a conspicuously empty seat.
"I didn't think of it until now, but wow, despite just transferring here, you already managed to create a new club?" Urotsuki exclaimed before she whistled, impressed. "Damn, that's pretty impressive."
"It was mostly due to Sumireko's insistence that we managed to have our club created on our first day here," Maribel said, downplaying her part.
"Of course, Maribel and I did all of the paperwork while Sumireko went off to who knows where," Renko complained. "Speaking of which, why the hell is Sumireko taking so long to get here?"
"Now now," Maribel replied, "She could just be getting lost in the school's hallways."
Just as Maribel finished her sentence, the door loudly slid open, revealing a girl with shoulder-length brown hair with pigtails wearing red-framed glasses and a black cape with a red interior that's adorned with pinkish-white runes. "Ha hah! A hero is never late or early, for they always arrive just in time!" The girl said as she posed with dramatic flair.
"You're late, Sumireko," Renko sternly said, causing Sumireko to freeze and drop her act.
"Did you get lost?" Maribel asked Sumireko in a softer tone compared to Renko's.
"Huh?" Sumireko exclaimed with surprise. "O-oh, uh… uh, yeah, I did get lost, heh heh!" Sumireko said as she nervously scratched the back of her head.
While Renko didn't believe her sister's obvious lie, she didn't want to push her over something so minor. "Whatever, so long as you're here, we can finally begin our meeting."
"So that's your sis, huh?" Urotsuki commented as Sumireko took her seat. "She sure does have the flair for the dramatic."
Sumireko froze as she registered Urotsuki's voice. "Hey, I thought you two said that you wouldn't invite anyone else into this club!" Sumireko said to Maribel and Renko.
"Sorry Sumireko, but the school required that clubs should have a minimum of 4 people or they get dropped," Maribel said. "Plus, they do have special dreams just like I do."
Any dislike Sumireko had towards the two dreamers were instantly dropped upon hearing Maribel's words as she sat down as quickly as she could. "Really, really? You two have special dreams, too?" Sumireko asked as she suddenly got back up and leaned closer towards Madotsuki and Urotsuki.
Surprised by Sumireko's sudden enthusiasm, the two dreamers leaned back a bit to get some space. "Uh, yeah. We're Dreamers just like Maribel," Urotsuki answered.
Sumireko frowned as she sat down with some of her enthusiasm deflated. "That's a boring and ordinary name. I prefer the term 'Dream Weaver', as that's what I call Maribel's ability."
"Too bad, Sumireko, 'Dreamer' is what Mado and I are sticking with," Urotsuki responded.
"Sumireko, I think you should allow the newcomers to introduce themselves before we get any further," Maribel said before turning to the two dreamers. "If you would?"
Madotsuki nodded. "My name's Madotsuki. Nice to meet you."
"And mine's Urotsuki. Nice to meetcha."
"My name's Usami Sumireko, high school student extraordinaire!" Sumireko said as she got up from her seat and posed dramatically. "Nice to meet you two powerful people!"
"Told you she'd get this to her head," Renko said.
Sumireko ignored her sister's jab as she sat down. "So what's today's meeting about?"
Maribel cleared her throat before beginning to speak. "Today's meeting is about me, Madotsuki, and Urotsuki sharing what we know about our dreams, though since it seems that you two seem to know more about our dreams than I do, would you like to share first?"
"Sure, I'm willing to go first," Urotsuki answered. "You fine with it, Mado?"
Madotsuki simply nodded in response.
"Then that settles it. First off, I'll start with the easiest to show." Urotsuki then got up from her seat and began to equip her Wolf Effect, causing Maribel and the two Usami sisters to exclaim in surprise and amazement. "I might've mentioned this before during class with Renko and Maribel, but as far as I'm aware, all of us Dreamers have something that I call Effects, and we collect them in our dreams. Not only that, but we can equip them both in our dreams and in the real world, though it does take some practice to bring them in the real world." Urotsuki then changed Effects and equipped the Gakuran Effect.
"Oh, wow!" Sumireko exclaimed with amazement. "Can you show your Effects, Madotsuki?"
Flinching in surprise from suddenly being put in the spotlight, Madotsuki wordlessly complied and equipped her Cat Effect.
"Aw, you look so cute!" Sumireko gushed, causing Madotsuki to blush in embarrassment.
"Alright, calm down, sis," Renko said. "I think Madotsuki had enough attention for today."
"Aw, but I wanted to see more from her," said Sumireko as she turned to her sister.
"If Madotsuki wants to show off her effects, she can do it at her own volition," Maribel added.
Madotsuki took a sigh of relief as she unequipped her Cat Effect.
"Okay, Maribel, but that means that you have to show off yours!" Said Sumireko.
"Eh?" Maribel exclaimed in surprise. "But I've never done it before, and Urotsuki did say that it takes practice to manifest effects in the real world."
"But you did once share that you collected some, didn't you?" Sumireko asked.
"Well yeah, but…"
"Come on, Maribel, if Urotsuki and Madotsuki decided to share their Effects, then it's only fair that you do so, as well."
"A-alright, if you say so," Maribel said before she closed her eyes and held out her hand. One second later, an obsidian knife with a bone-white handle and guard appeared in Maribel's hands.
"Damn, that was fast for your first time," Urotsuki said.
"Really, that was fast?" Renko asked as Maribel unequipped her Obsidian Knife Effect.
"Yup," Urotsuki replied. "Took me a while to effortlessly equip Effects out in the real world. Oh, that reminds me," Urotsuki said as she sat down and unequipped her Gakuran Effect. "While you can theoretically equip any effect, and even combine them, I'd recommend that you restrict your use of effects to the more normal-looking effects out in the real world. Said this before during lunch, but you wouldn't want to explain how you suddenly changed appearance so easily, now would ya?"
"Oh, so just like how I mostly use my powers for parlor tricks and sleight of hand, you Dream Weavers mostly use your more mundane Effects, as well?" Sumireko asked.
"Yeah, just like that, and I prefer the term Dream-" Urotsuki said before interrupting herself upon realizing what Sumireko said. "Say what now?"
"You have powers, as well?" Madotsuki asked, equally surprised.
Sumireko chuckled to herself with pride. "Yup, my sister and I have special powers, as well."
Urotsuki has gotten bug-eyed from her surprise and turned towards Renko. "You too?"
"It's not as impressive as the rest of yours," Renko answered, realizing that her powers are beginning to seem inadequate in comparison.
"Come on, Renko, don't be like that!" Sumireko responded.
"So what exactly are your powers?" Madotsuki asked.
"I'm a psychic, and my sister can tell time and location by looking at the stars and moon," Sumireko answered as she gestured to herself and her sister.
"Like I said, my power's not that impressive compared to you all," said Renko.
"Come on, Renko, that's rad," said Urotsuki. "Wish I could tell time and not get lost just by looking at the stars."
"That's not all," Maribel chimed in. "While it is true that she can tell her time and location by looking up at the night sky, her ability also works when looking at pictures of the night sky, and she can even tell what time and location the pictures took place. One time, she saw a picture of a night sky in the middle of nowhere and correctly guessed that the picture was taken in the American Grand Canyon, though she did have to convert the time to Japanese Standard Time."
"See, Renko?" Sumireko said. "Just because your powers aren't obvious doesn't mean that they're not cool."
"It's just as your sister says," Maribel chimed in. "You shouldn't sell yourself short just because your abilities aren't flashy."
"You really mean that Maribel?" Renko asked as she turned to Maribel.
"I do, Renko," Maribel answered.
"Th-thanks," Renko simply said as she began to smile.
Upon seeing Maribel and Renko's interaction, Sumireko began to smile a smug smile as she chuckled to herself.
"What's so funny, Sumireko?" Renko asked her sister.
"Oh, nothing," Sumireko answered, still wearing a smug smile on her face. "I just thought of something funny, that's all."
"It better not be what I'm thinking it is," Renko said in an annoyed tone.
"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Sumireko said before chuckling to herself once again.
"I hate you," Renko said in an exasperated tone.
"Love ya too, sis."
"So what else do you know about Dreamers Urotsuki?" Maribel asked as she turned towards Urotsuki, changing the subject.
"Well, as I've said before," Urotsuki responded, "us Dreamers can enter each other's dreams, though what I didn't mention is that you can only enter someone else's dreams with their permission."
"I tried to get Maribel to invite me to her dreams a few times, but it never worked," Renko added in response.
"Really now?" Urotsuki rhetorically asked. "Guess it only works on Dreamers."
"Ah, that sucks!" Sumireko exclaimed. "I want to see all of your dreams!"
"And with that, that's all that I know about us Dreamers," said Urotsuki. "Did I miss anything, Madotsuki?"
"You didn't," Madotsuki answered.
"In that case," Urotsuki said as she began to face Maribel, "what do you know of your dreams, Maribel?"
"Asides from what Renko said about non-Dreamers not being able to enter my dreams, not much else, Urotsuki," Maribel answered.
"Guess that's it for sharing info, then," said Urotsuki. "What should we do now?"
"We could try out if non-Dreamers can enter a Dreamer's dreams," Madotsuki suggested.
Everyone looked at Madotsuki as if she grew another head.