CHAPTER 4

*FEEL THE POWER!*

I wake up to the loud sound of my Masked Avenger alarm clock. I press the snooze button and slowly drift off back to sleep.

Just five more minutes…

I can feel the warm sunlight seeping through the cracks of the window blinders. I move my hand around my bed to find a pillow or something to shield my face from the light.

Where did that pillow go?

I shuffle my hand around some more and I manage to find it on the other side of my bed.

There it is…

I open my heavy eyes a bit to notice that I was the only one in this bed.

That’s weird.

Last night Akane was sleeping right next to me. Given what we did yesterday, I’d imagine she would be a deep sleeper. It was kinda weird to not hear her obnoxious snoring when I woke up.

*FEEL THE POWER!*

I turn my head to my alarm clock and notice the time. It’s 10 past 9.

“Aw crap I’m gonna be late!”

I get off my bed and rush to change into my school uniform. It was just yesterday that I woke up to see my crush wear this white dress shirt. For some reason though, there was no hint of that unique strawberry scent that Akane had.

Maybe she already left to go to school?

Today so far has been really strange. Being my girlfriend, surely Akane would have woken me up right? But given how weird yesterday was, maybe I was thinking too much again. Akane probably did go to school, and I would see her in class anyways.

I finish changing and head out the door. Mother already left to run some errands and left a boxed lunch for me on the table. There was no doubt that it was made by my mother and Akane. I can’t help the stupid grin I had on my face.

Nothing beats a home cooked meal made by your mother and the girl of your dreams!

I need to exercise more…

I had barely managed to get to class with five minutes to spare. My lungs felt like they were about to explode. Today our class was much rowdier than usual due to Valentines’ Day coming up. A lot of the girls were planning with each other on what they were going to give, and to whom. For the last year or so, I’ve only received the “pity” candy from girls who had extra, or didn’t have the courage to give to one person so decided to give it to everyone in class. In some ways, it was preferable to get nothing rather than pity candy. Daisuke was quite the target on Valentines’ Day. Even so far back as grade school Daisuke would get swamped with chocolates and letters on that day. For some reason though, he didn’t really care for all the attention. Instead he would pass off most of his gifts to me.

More candy for me I suppose.

If I was going to get pity candy, I hoped it would be caramel. That is my favorite. But there was only one person I hoped to get a Valentines’ from.

There she is.

Akane quietly sat down on her seat in front of me. I guess she didn’t notice me waving at her since she was preoccupied reading her book.

“Gooooooooood morning Akane!” I let out with a big smile.

I see a small shiver run down her spine. She still has her back turned towards me.

“What’s wrong Akane? I’m surprised you had enough sleep even though we were up pretty late last night.” I asked.

All of a sudden I realized that I may have said that a little too loud. The whole class was quiet now and observing how our conversation would play out.

“First of all Kaneshiro-san…”

Akane stands up from her desk and towers over me. She closes her book loudly enough that I could feel my ears ringing. Her eyes were serious and cold, not like the warm and cheerful ones I saw yesterday. I feel intimated by her icy gaze. She didn’t feel like the same Akane I went on a date with. Instead, she felt like the “Ice Witch” that everyone feared.

Something’s wrong!

“Do not call me by my first name. Secondly, there is zero chance that I would ever be seen with you.” she says with disgust.

“So stop bothering me!” as she sits back down and continues reading her book.

W-What?

My heart felt like it was split in half. Her words pierced me like daggers, each one hitting deeper than the last. This was the first time anyone ever encountered the full wrath of the “Ice Witch.” Yuki-san definitely lived up to her infamous reputation. I bury my face into my arms, trying to hide my embarrassment and confusion.

Where did the Akane I know go? Just yesterday we were so happy together, and now she hates me? Did I do something wrong? She was one who told me to call her by her first name! We even k-kissed!

“U-Uh! All rise!” said the meekly class president. It was the cue for class to begin.

I’m feeling light-headed.

Time feels like it has stopped for me. All that is left is an empty shell of a man.

“Hey, HEY! Earth to Kazuki? Hello? Anyone in there?”

I snap back to reality and realize that I’m in Dr. Mori’s office. This must be another regular therapy session. She was sitting across from me, sipping at her coffee mug.

“You seem more weird today Kazuki, and that’s saying a lot.” she said sarcastically.

Akane hates me now.

Akane hates me now.

Akane hates me now.

Dr. Mori sighs. “Just what is going on with you today Kazuki?” she said, this time with concern.

“It’s just…I don’t know what’s going on right now Dr. Mori. It’s a long story.”

She puts down her cup of coffee and grabs a notepad and a pen.

“Well, we have a lot of time on our hands right now. There’s nothing I won’t understand kid.” as I hear a pen-clicking noise.

I tell her my situation so far – Akane Yuki, the “Ice Witch” of Kasumigaseki High, was apparently my girlfriend. After falling asleep and waking up today, it seems like it was all a dream or something. Yuki-san was back to her cold demeanor. Despite how ridiculous my story sounded, Dr. Mori was listening to every detail. Explaining it didn’t really put me at ease either, and Dr. Mori seemed just as confused as I was.

“Uh…you have a really vivid imagination Kazuki.” as Dr. Mori takes a long gulp from her coffee cup.

“Maybe you were lucid dreaming or something?” hypothesized Dr. Mori.

“Lucid…dreaming?” I’ve never heard of it.

“Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon when the person is aware and in control of their dream. Maybe you’re so infatuated with Yuki-san that you dreamt that you two were a couple or something.” she explains.

What.

That sounded impossible. If it was a dream, I’m sure I would be aware of it right? Everything that happened yesterday felt real; the date, the omelet rice Yuki-san made for me, and even the kiss. There was no way all of it was fake. Besides, if it was a dream, I would have chosen to fly or something. I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my head.

“B-But…everything seemed so real. There’s no way it could have been a dream.”

“They say that lucid dreams and your waking life could have the same content. In fact, there may be enough of a sufficient similarity that you can’t even tell the difference. Your dream might be so real, that you can’t tell whether or not you’re actually asleep or awake. I mean, this could all be a dream as far as I’m concerned!” Dr. Mori teases.

Now that she mentioned it, almost everything that happened yesterday was grounded in reality. I remember when I was a kid that I would have dreams where I was the Masked Avenger fighting crime with Daisuke as my partner. Yuki-san was the same, my mother was the same, and even the small hole I had in the ceiling of my room was the same. I feel another sharp pain race through my brain.

“Are you okay Kazuki-kun?” Dr. Mori moves closer to me. She gets out a pen light and shines it blindingly into my eyes.

“H-Hey!” as I shield my eyes.

Dr. Mori laughs and puts away her light into her breast pocket.

“I know you kids are young and think you’re invincible. But I think you should relax a little. After all, you’ve just been in an accident. You still have plenty of time to figure out your love life!” as Dr. Mori bursts into laughter, only to end in a stark realization of her current affairs.

Someone please take her.

“So what happened to make you think you were with the Ice Witch?” asked Daisuke nonchalantly.

“W-What?!?”

I’m walking home right now with Daisuke. I felt nostalgic since it had been a while since it was just the two of us together.

Word spreads fast.

I wasn’t sure if I should tell him what happened. My delusional fantasy of Yuki-san and I being a couple probably would only make me seem crazier. Besides, he would only make fun of me further.

“You probably wouldn’t believe me.” I sigh.

Daisuke got closer and puts his arm around my shoulder.

“You’re my best friend Kaz, and I know you better than you know yourself. Remember that one time you spent all day trying to get that Masked Avenger pose down? Just so you could impress what’s her name.”

Her name was Ino Sakurako.

I couldn’t help but cringe at my past. It was true. I did spend an entire Saturday replicating that pose.

“I still remember that pose y’know.” I informed him.

I run ahead of him a little and get into my form.

“Transform!” and I ironically displayed a perfect Masked Avenger pose.

At least elementary school me would be super proud.

Daisuke covers his face in shame and cringe. He then laughs loudly.

I hoped no one else saw that.

“But anyways, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.” he insists.

I explain to him what’s happened so far with Akane Yuki being my apparent girlfriend. Like Dr. Mori, he only finds himself confused and in disbelief.

“Uh…huh. Well you always did have a vivid imagination Kaz.”

I told you so.

Maybe they were right. Maybe I did have a really vivid imagination and I just had a lucid dream or whatever Dr. Mori said. I couldn’t help but feel like the world was teasing me hard. Like my life was just a sitcom or something. We arrive at the crossroads where we split off in opposite directions.

“Try not to further ruin your high school career virgin.”

I wave off Daisuke and head on home.

I just want today to be over.

I’m in my bed right now, staring straight up at a familiar ceiling. Maybe if I closed my eyes or something Akane Yuki would appear right next to me.

Nah. That would be impossible.

I roll around my bed. I couldn’t sleep since I still had so many unanswered questions and doubts in my mind.

Was everything really a dream?

Despite Dr. Mori’s brash attitude, she was actually a really intelligent person. If she said it was probably lucid dreaming, she’s probably right. I just wondered, how did it happen anyways? I still couldn’t accept that yesterday was all a dream. It just seemed too real. I remember almost every second of what Akane and I did yesterday. I pull out my phone and begin to research more information on lucid dreams.

That’s interesting.

A Vikipedia article about lucid dreaming stated that “dreams may be affected from recent trauma or life events.”

Wait a minute.

I touch my forehead, but it seems like the bruise was gone. Could my dream have something to do with my accident?

No way. That’s impossible.

If I bumped my head that hard, then surely it would have been on the health report right? I had to undergo MRI scans and concussion protocols just in case and they were all fine. Though I felt lucky that I managed to come out mostly unscathed from the accident, I couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling in my stomach. There was just no explanation outside of a miracle that I only had a small bruise on my head.

I’m just thinking too much again.

If I’m in a lucid dream, I’ll surely remember to take note of everything I see. Further reading this article, one of the sure ways to wake up from a dream world was the feeling of falling. Falling backwards would wake you up for sure. Suddenly I feel a headache pounding. I put my phone on the nightstand and decide to drift off to sleep. Maybe if I thought hard enough, I might be able to see the girlfriend of my dreams once more.

*FEEL THE POWER-*

I hit the snooze button as soon as I heard my alarm clock. I let out a big yawn and open my eyes to a familiar ceiling.

I guess I didn’t dream about Yuki-san.

*FEEL THE POWER!*

Strangely my alarm clock was still ringing. Surely I must have hit the snooze button. Before I knew it I see a mysterious arm move quickly from my side to hit the snooze button again.

W-What the?!?

I turn to my side and there she was. I recognized that long black hair from behind anywhere. It was definitely Yuki-san!

“Just five more minutes…” she mumbles in her daze.

I jump out of my bed.

“EHHHHHHHHHHH?” I let out a loud scream that echoed throughout the house.

“I’m trying to sleep dummy…just five more minutes please…” said Yuki-san as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

“Wake up Yuki-san! We need to talk!”

She slowly rises up from the bed and lets out a loud yawn. She stretches her arms upwards and then rubs her eyes a bit.

“What’s so important Kazuki-kun?” she says hoarsely.

What’s so important?!? What’s going on?!?

“What are you doing in my bed?!?” I asked her.

Yesterday she hated me and had no idea what I was talking about. The day before she was my girlfriend and we spent the whole day at Felis-land the amusement park! Did she break into my house somehow and then decided to sneak into my bed? I’m so confused and wanted answers.

“Who are you? Why did you have no idea what I was talking about yesterday?!?” I questioned her.

Yuki-san looked distressed, confused about what I was talking about. It didn’t matter, I needed to get to the bottom of this. This joke had gone on long enough.

“What are you talking about? We went to school together yesterday. All we did was talk all day in class. I left school early to run some errands and you went home with Daisuke.”

She was right. Almost everything she said happened yesterday except for anything that involved her. How did she know this? I never told her anything.

Wait a minute. I must be dreaming.

Of course. That made perfect sense. I was lucid dreaming. Oh how vivid of an imagination did I have? There was no way Akane Yuki, the school’s “Ice Witch,” was my girlfriend. But this felt surreal. Everything is exactly the same in my room, even the hole in the ceiling. All of my senses were being stimulated too. I could even smell that lovely strawberry scent of Yuki-san’s.

There’s only one thing to do.

I had to wake up from this cruel dream – no, this nightmare.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what…?” asked a confused Yuki-san.

I lean back to the side of my bed and decide to fall over on my back.

“Kazuki!” as I see a hand extending to reach me as I fall backwards.

I hear a loud thud, followed by ringing in my ears. I can feel the pain surging from the back of my head.

I must have woken up.

I open my eyes to see a familiar ceiling. I must be back in my own room. Weirdly though, I was on the floor, and not on my bed like I expected.

“K-Kazuki!” I see Yuki-san appear, looking down on me from the bed. “D-Don’t scare me like that you idiot!”

I didn’t wake up after all.

This is real. The feeling of falling was one of the sure ways for one to wake up from a lucid dream. I stand up, barely able to keep my legs from shaking. There she was, Akane Yuki, sitting on my bed, teary eyed from my reckless fall.

What is going on?!?