Good Night

Chapter XXII

The second their foreheads met, the nightmare pulled Kuu in the murky water flooding Souta's mind. It tried to seep into his mouth and nose, but Kuu quickly held his breath. The saltwater on his tongue reminded Kuu of a dream he devoured before, and how it longed to drown him before he could dine and dash. A foolish attempt to avoid the inevitable, just as Souta's nightmare acted.

Shaking his head, Kuu looked left and right. Nothing but the deep blue sea greeted him. To change his fate, Kuu swam further down. Bubbles floated from his cracks. Soon he'd quite literally be swimming with the fishes, but that didn't matter. He had to find Souta and knock some sense into him. But where was he...?

Kuu swam deeper. Until the blue waters faded to a midnight hue. But still, nothing. Souta was just as, if not more, desperate to avoid Kuu's clutches. As if his subconscious knew what would happen if they met once more. Alas, neither Kumo nor Yuu could allow this cycle to continue. Even if Souta didn't want to be seen, Kuu would swim across the bottom of the ocean if he had to.

Dammit, where'd he go?  Yuu grumbled from within.

It's okay, we'll find him soon. From the looks of it, he's not a fan of water? Kumo responded. In the back of his mind, he was grateful that Suna wasn't around for once. She hated getting in water―said it was more difficult to put herself together.

His porcelain heart twinged for but a moment.

No, he's fine with it, at least from what I know. But I guess no one sane would be a fan of this much.

Instead of answering, Kumo groaned. Yet you put him through this anyway?

Hey, hey, this wasn't me! I've been with you this whole time, so how could I do anything?

Kumo had a feeling Yuu would grimace if he was in control of their body. After narrowing his eyes, Kumo gave in. He had to stop thinking the worst of his other half. They had to trust each other for this night to go smoothly, sure, but how could he when―

The sight of Souta's body put Kumo's thoughts on hold. There he is, they both exclaimed. Soon after, Kuu swam to the man as his lifeless body sank.

Yet no matter how rapidly Kuu swam, it seemed like he wasn't getting any closer to Souta. His host seemed unreachable, as if the nightmare itself was set on keeping them apart. If that was the case, then Kuu had no choice but to take action.

He shut his eyes and focused on what little of the human world he experienced through his hosts' dreams. Shimmering scales bubbled to the surface of his mind. He grabbed onto the image as hard as he could, then willed his legs to bind together. Scales soon covered his legs. At where his tiptoes once were, a fin sprouted, translucent and elegant.

Once the transformation was complete, he swam towards Souta with haste. Bubbles trailed his body. Now, he could finally feel the distance between them closing. Kuu could see Souta better now. Eyes closed, the man sunk with his arms reaching for the surface.

That bastard better not be dead, he thought. Once they were face-to-face, Kuu gripped Souta's hand. With his other hand, he pulled out his straw and blew a bubble. He kept blowing until the bubble encased them both, giving the much-needed oxygen to the two.

But Souta wasn't waking up.

While Kuu waited for his legs to come back, he sat back and caught his breath.

"Souta? You okay? That was... pretty dangerous." Kuu heaved. He then turned Souta's face towards him.

His skin was almost as pale as Kuu's, which couldn't mean anything good.

Maybe there's too much water in his system, Yuu wondered.

In that case--" Kumo held his straw up before bringing it to his lips. "--let's get it out."