Chapter 88: Yotsuya Miko's Dream!
Night had fallen.
The pitch-black sky held no starlight. Only the streetlights continued illuminating the ground.
The area around her seemed as if it had just rained. Damp air spread across the road like thick, sticky fog.
Yotsuya Miko carried a shoulder bag and walked nervously along the road home, her body sinking into the mist.
The cold wind blew over her, wet and freezing, as if it were seeping into her bones. Miko unconsciously wrapped her arms around her exposed upper arms.
The silent world contained not a single stray sound.
Miko stepped forward.
Tap.
Footsteps echoed behind her.
Her back tightened, and she instinctively turned around. But just like before, she could not see anyone there. Only the dim yellow streetlight flickered between light and darkness.
"Is… is someone there?"
Miko called out with a trembling voice.
Her voice was swallowed by the darkness, and no one answered.
Miko bit her lip. Her gaze lingered behind her for a moment before she slowly turned back around.
Ahead of her was another dim, yellow streetlight. Its faint glow was only enough to cover that small patch of ground and the nearby greenery. It had no strength left to crawl any farther.
The shadows of the plants scattered across the ground, performing a strange shadow-puppet show.
Standing in that same small circle of light, Miko looked at the shadow gripping her ankle, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
She only had to pass one more streetlight.
For some reason, her muddled mind felt that the bench in front of that streetlight could bring her unmatched safety.
As long as… as long as she reached the bench before that streetlight, she would be safe for a while.
For some reason, that was what her heart told her.
Tap, tap, tap.
Miko quickened her pace, and the footsteps behind her also grew faster, shorter, and closer.
The rustling sounds in the bushes became denser too.
But just like before, right before those footsteps were about to ring beside her ear, she reached the streetlight.
Without lingering, Miko took another deep breath and rushed forward in one burst, quickly reaching the bench.
She was safe.
"Haa."
Miko sat down on the soft bench and let out a breath of relief. For some reason, her heart settled.
As she relaxed, the range of the streetlight instantly expanded, and the light climbed into every corner of the road.
But why did she think this bench was safe?
Miko, who had just calmed down, felt the softness beneath her and gradually began to think.
"Huh? Miko?"
"Ah!"
The sudden human voice startled Yotsuya Miko so badly that she jumped up. She crouched on the ground, clutching her pounding heart, her tense shoulders trembling.
Miko?
Luke looked at Miko, who had just been sitting on his lap before leaping away, and seemed a little confused. The warmth of her body still lingered on his legs.
This situation felt like it had happened before. It was somewhat familiar…
After entering this world, Luke's gradually clearing mind began to recall.
It seemed she had been scared by him like this before, back at the cursed building.
She really was too easy to scare.
Luke looked helplessly at Miko, who was still crouched on the ground and trembling.
Still, what kind of dream was this?
Luke stood up from the wooden bench and looked around.
A gloomy night curtain.
Dim yellow streetlights.
Rustling bushes.
Cold wind and icy fog that clung to the bones like maggots.
His body felt cold in this environment, and his heart felt oppressed as well.
Luke stretched out his hand and swept it through the air. The cold wind mixed with moisture brushed against his palm, giving him a vivid physical sensation.
What a realistic scene.
It could even clearly simulate all five senses.
So…
Was Miko having a nightmare? A lucid nightmare?
Luke guessed at the reason he had arrived in her dream.
Because tomorrow was Saturday, he had fallen asleep tonight wearing the [Dream Necklace]. He had planned to continue watching the third episode of Knight Mikasa and Succubus Annie.
As a result, he had been dragged directly into Miko's nightmare.
Was it because her subconscious was telling her that if she encountered something terrifying like this, she should look for him? Was that why he had received an invitation from this dream and come here?
"S-Sensei…"
Yotsuya Miko turned her head with a trembling body, her eyes looking at him pitifully.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
Luke withdrew his gaze and nodded at her. At the same time, he stomped his foot on the ground.
The surrounding environment changed completely.
The fog dispersed, and the atmosphere became warm.
Miko, however, did not notice the change around her. She only stared blankly at him.
T-this Sensei can actually talk!
After confirming that he could speak, Miko pressed down on her wildly pounding heart.
After Luke appeared, her thoughts grew clearer and clearer, and her muddled mind gradually woke up.
She had already recalled what had been happening over the past few days.
Every time she entered a dream these past few days, this dreamscape would form.
A dark street.
Dim, gloomy lights.
Footsteps following her like a shadow.
Everything looked like a scene from a horror movie, and she had dreamed of this same scene for several days already.
Only, at the beginning of the dream, she would simply walk down this street in a daze, unconsciously entering the next scene of the dream without feeling any fear.
Later, as the nightmare repeated more and more, she slowly began to develop a sense of thought. She could actively think about what was happening around her, and because of that, she felt fear.
The same went for reality.
At first, she could not remember the content of this terrifying dream at all, not even a little.
But as the dream happened multiple times, she slowly began to recall a few scattered scenes. However, those fragmented memories only let her remember that she had had a nightmare.
They did not let her remember the complete dream, much less realize that these dreams were all the same nightmare.
So Miko, who only vaguely remembered that she had been having nightmares, simply thought one thing.
Maybe because she had seen too many terrifying evil spirits in reality, the psychological pressure had built up too much, causing her to have nightmares.
Because of that, she did not take the matter to heart.
She only tested the dream ritual from Horror Manga Special: Scream.
She placed the phone containing the secretly taken photo of Sensei under her pillow, then recalled Sensei's image in her heart as she fell asleep, hoping he could protect her from nightmares.
And so, every time she reached the wooden bench in the dream, a Sensei would really spawn there.
Although it was only an image simulated by her own heart, he could still protect her from being swallowed by fear.
That was why she knew the bench would give her a sense of safety.
It was also why she felt confused that Sensei could talk.
But at this moment, she had fully woken up.
She realized that she was currently inside a dream.
And also…
That the dreams she had been having these past few days were all the same nightmare.
"Sensei, I've been having this night… nightmare for the past few days."
Yotsuya Miko hurriedly told Luke, though her voice paused at the end.
She sensed something was wrong.
Even if Sensei looked like a real person, he was only an image simulated by her own mind. What meaning was there in saying this inside the dream?
Especially since she did not know whether she would forget this dream again after waking up.
If she forgot it, how would she tell Sensei about this dream?
"The same nightmare?"
Luke immediately realized something was wrong and confirmed it with Miko.
"Yes."
Although Miko felt it was useless, she still answered him. At the very least, it brought her a little peace of mind.
"Do I appear here every time?"
"Yes."
The confused Miko still answered.
Luke slowly began to think.
According to his understanding, dreams were activities of the soul. They secretly contained a person's needs and desires, leaked their fears, and synchronized with their body.
That was why people said one dreamed at night of what one thought during the day.
Whether it was a nightmare or a spring dream, the logic was the same.
Miko, who had Yin-Yang Eyes, was no exception. In reality, she could see ugly evil spirits that surpassed the limits of psychological endurance at every moment.
As an ordinary high school girl, it was natural for her to feel fear.
So it was not strange for her to weave this same kind of nightmare in her sleep.
Thinking of it like that, the reason she would have the same nightmare multiple times was very sufficient.
But…
He did not think things were that simple.
Because based on Luke's observations of Yotsuya Miko—
No matter what strange things or strange people Yotsuya Miko encountered, one should not be surprised.
So…
"Let me go through this dream of yours first."
Luke said that to Yotsuya Miko.
Basing everything on groundless guesses would not bring an accurate answer.
In a situation like this, everything had to be verified through action.
"Are there any other dangers on this street?"
He asked Miko.
"No. Although the atmosphere is terrifying, I've never encountered anything here that can hurt me."
Miko hurriedly shook her head.
"Oh. Then how do we enter the next scene? Your nightmare can't be only this much, right?"
"As long as we keep walking forward, it will switch to the next scene. The next scene is…"
As she spoke, Miko suddenly paused, and her face turned red.
Just as she remembered the truth of the terrifying dream, she also remembered another layer of dream scenes caused by the dream ritual.
"What's wrong?"
Luke asked strangely.
At the same time, along with Yotsuya Miko's recalled imagination, he felt the world before his eyes blur, and the scene had already switched.
His mind wavered for a moment, and his vision began adapting to the abruptly changed scenery.
He saw Miko's smooth, pale skin glowing under the lights...
The street had vanished, replaced by the bathroom in Miko's house. That explained why she was wearing only a pale pink bra.
Sensing something was wrong, Miko hurriedly crossed her arms over her chest, burying her face in her shoulders to hide her surprisingly ample figure.
Her legs pressed together, and her toes curled tightly against the floor.
'Ugh—why did I have to try that Dream Ritual? And why does the sensei in this dream look so real?! Even if it's just a dream, this is still so embarrassing.'
Miko's face tightened as a deep blush spread across her cheeks. She forced her body to slowly turn away from him.
Roughly one palm's worth.
After briefly making that judgment, Luke shifted his gaze to the mirror, corners, and other places in the bathroom most likely to cause trouble in horror movies.
The corners of the bathroom were clearly visible, and there was no ghostly figure crouching there, covered in thick black aura.
The mirror also accurately reflected his body, without any strange scene where the reflection differed from the original.
These places, which normally hid filth and trouble, looked just like an ordinary bathroom right now. There was nothing abnormal.
"So what's the scary part of this scene?"
He turned around and looked toward Miko, who had her back to him.
Hearing his question, Miko's body trembled. She hurriedly said, "This bathroom is safe. There's n-no danger."
This place is safe?
Luke swept his gaze over the bathroom, which looked no different from an ordinary household bathroom, and found it hard to judge whether it was truly safe.
Still, since Miko, the owner of the dream, had said so, he assumed there probably was not much of a problem.
Miko stood with her back to him, her long black hair pinned up to reveal the pale curve of her neck. Her panties hugged her body tightly, the fabric straining at the crease where her buttocks met her thighs.
Sensing his gaze, she lowered the arm she'd been using to cover herself. Her hands reached back, slowly tugging the fabric of her panties down. But the tight material did little to hide the snow-white skin spilling from beneath it.
And that gesture only makes it more erotic.
Luke sighed helplessly. "So, what's wrong with this dream scene?" he asked the now-flushed Miko.
Another shudder wracked her body. The scene was about to shift again...
Having already adapted to the rhythm of the transitions, Luke did not feel dazed this time. The moment he sensed the dream fluctuate, he directly emptied his thoughts and stopped thinking blankly.
Only after his eyes gradually adjusted to the changing scenery did he reload his thoughts.
Only…
"Why are you on my lap again? Are you sure this is your nightmare?"
After the scene changed, Luke found himself sitting in a bathtub filled with hot water, cradling Miko's soft, supple body in his arms. The rising steam traced the curves of her flushed skin.
"…I used a dream ritual."
Miko leaned forward with her upper body, keeping her back to him as she spoke.
"You put a person's photo under your pillow, silently repeat that person's name as you fall asleep, and supposedly, you can build an image of that person in your dream."
"Then… then…"
"It can verify whether you like them or not…"
Her voice grew softer and softer, but he had already understood.
The dream ritual from the final chapter of Horror Manga Special: Scream.
Ritual: exactly as Miko explained.
Effect: it could verify whether you truly liked someone.
Process: scenes that went a bit beyond ordinary friendship.
It sounded like a ritual someone had randomly made up.
Luke easily resisted the urge for his hands to cause trouble and looked at Miko's flushed figure.
"So you read Scream too?"
He grabbed the important point.
"Mm."
Miko answered softly.
Her leaning upper body slowly moved back again, because she realized that if she sat in front of Sensei and leaned forward, her lower body would…
"You can sit over there if you feel uncomfortable. I can turn around and not look at you."
Seeing Miko unable to sit still, he guessed that this girl's brain was already burned out. Her red face looked almost like blazing sunset clouds.
Miko did not move.
Instead, she remained silent in place for a while before hesitantly speaking.
"Sensei…"
"Are you really…"
"Something I imagined?"
…
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