She barely registered exiting into what the alien called 'outer Dreamspace' - and only because her mind had noticed the change in the empathetic background to what could only be described as an equilibrium. The space so saturated with every kind of emotion they actually balanced and dulled each other out. Normally, her kin's strong predisposition to empathy would've made this place intolerably loud for those too young, and grounding for the adults. Somewhat similar to a state of zen.

Though at the moment, she could barely process any emotional background radiation.

What she saw in Inabayama's nightmare was… Bad. Really bad.

Not because Hiei had to take part in killing a surprisingly accurate nightmare version of herself - this did not faze her in the slightest. But her visage repeatedly haunting Goodra in her dreams? Trying to kill her over and over? And once finally put down, having the gall to give her girlfriend just one more traumatising image as a twisted parting gift? Hiei did not appreciate any of this.

She knew the dragon was still affected by what happened, but reaching the point of horrifying familiarity with these nightmares was even worse than she thought. And something told Gardevoir today was not the first time the Goodra had been through this particular dream.

Her girlfriend was reliving these events for weeks.

"Honnoji. You'll have to save the remaining two by yourself," she stated, gazing in her pupil's approximate direction. Was her voice too forceful? She could not tell. Absol's red eyes widened. This could be surprise, fear, or any other thing, "I am growing weary. Inabayama, Anegawa and I will stay here."

This was fine. Inabayama was not proficient in lucid dreaming, so she could not help much, and putting her through two more nightmares was not in Gardevoir's interests. Anegawa was, frankly, useless in this place, but at least the ghost seemed content to follow her around. And Honnoji was ready, she already saw to this.

Not that the Absol felt like making it easier.

"But I can't-"

"You can, and you will," Hiei interrupted. Probably too forcefully, her pupil shrank into herself again, "You two already possess everything you need to succeed. Her familiarity with this 'Dreamspace'. Your Nail. Your judgement is good enough to use both. All I could offer here is my proficiency with lucid dreaming. And even then, I am low enough on energy to become a liability soon"

Honnoji just looked at her, eyes trying to convey some emotion Gardevoir was currently incapable of recognising. Probably the ungrounded insecurity rearing its ugly head again - Hiei could not tell, nor cared at the moment. They were burning precious time on this pep talk.

"Go, before one of them dies"

This finally forced Absol to move - and in just a few long, long moments, those two disappeared inside one of the black domes.

She was finally alone with Inabayama. Inabayama, who was sitting on what counted as air next to her, not exactly looking at Gardevoir.

Half-turned. Missing eye hidden from her. Probably subconsciously at this point.

"I…" Gardevoir started, then stumbling on her own thoughts, "I don't…"

Once again, she was not sure how to proceed, as the dragon turned away. Was this subconscious fear? Disgust? Something else?

"Look, I… …" once again, she lost her train of thought. Curses.

Sharp claws tried to find purchase against scalp as she attempted to gather her thoughts. If this was real world, she would've probably drawn blood by this point, but this little fact only blinked at the very edge of her awareness. Drown out by the sheer FRUSTRATION of being unable to find the right words. For the first time in a long while, being unsure how to proceed. Unsure how to say what she wanted.

This? Was entirely unlike Hiei.

Or… Or maybe it wasn't. She was a scholar first and foremost, often to the detriment of everything else. Including the knowledge of how to navigate such conversations. Of the two, it was Inabayama who possessed the emotional intelligence. If their places were reversed, the dragon would've known what to say - but they were not. No, it was up to Hiei to-

"I'm sorry," the dragon suddenly said, causing Gardevoir's thoughts to screech to a halt, "I'm sorry you had to see this. I'm trying to work it out of my system, but you know, a brain's gonna brain and all"

Hiei turned to the dragon, not exactly sure if she heard it right.

Her girlfriend smiled.

And she said SHE was sorry?..

"Inabayama. Why are you apologising?"

"Because I-" the Goodra did not finish, as Hiei lightly grabbed the dragon by the cheeks, forcing her girlfriend to face her properly, "Bwuh?.."

"I want you to listen closely, Inabayama," Hiei looked directly at the dragon - the eye still damaged - trying to be as soft as she was firm about it, "Out of all things happened, none are your fault. This attack? Performed by Darkrai, so you being stuck in the nightmare is their fault, not yours. They attacked us at behest of the humans. Making the attack itself the fault of humans, not yours. Those specific nightmares? You've been suffering them because of me, because of what I did. Which is my fault, not yours."

"Bwut-"

"Yes, it was an accident. It's still my fault. You? You have asked for none of this to happen. You did not cause any of this, directly or indirectly. Which is why I don't want to hear you apologising for any of this"

Her girlfriend looked at her for a few moments, before quietly nodding. At which point, Hiei finally released her.

"If any of us is at fault, it's me. I've attacked you, so now you have these nightmares. I've failed to foresee this attack as well, leaving us all vulnerable. And I am sorry for this," of course, Inabayama was quick to try to object to her apology, though Gardevoir also was quick to interrupt, "However, apologies are cheap. They don't mean anything if they are not backed by an action, an attempt to do better. Which is why, I am going to give you a promise."

"A promise?"

"Yes, a promise. And promises are not something I give lightly, Inabayama. This attack? There will not be a repeat. I will find a way to protect us, protect you from any similar attempts. What happened back then, when I ran out of energy? There will not be a repeat either. I will not allow myself to harm you anymore, even by an accident. Even if we fail this year, and have to stay the winter, you won't have to fear anything from me ever again. I promise you that. Can you believe me?"

"I… … Yeah, I can," the dragon nodded, then looking away for a moment, "Can I have a hug?.."

"Of course"

She knew this was not enough. As much as her girlfriend tried to 'get it out of her system', she was still shaken by these nightmares, this everything. And rightfully so as well.

So she pretended not to notice how the dragon was still a bit tense in her hug. How her heartbeat was still too fast, as if she was still expecting something terrible to happen. How her breathing hitched before she leaned into Hiei's shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," Gardevoir promised.

Another promise she intended to keep.

For a long time, they sat there - just the two of them. Well, almost - someplace physically near yet irrelevant, there was Anegawa. Someplace even further, three beings exited a darkfire dome, and then entered another. None of this mattered. Only Inabayama did.

Then, with a sound of a continuously breaking glass, the space shattered.