“Ahh!”
While the other four, which included Saya, were still surprised, Ran sat down on the sofa with an impassive look on her face. From the feeling the other girls around the table were giving off, Saya figured it out, too. Ran was the boss of this team.
6
“We Sleepwalkers have special powers that let us act freely while we sleep,” Ran began once everyone had their black tea and tea cakes. “Every human being is connected through sleep, and we travel through it like it's one world. You might say we’re walking around a collective consciousness.”
“The collective unconscious...”
Saya had heard of this somewhere before. If she remembered correctly, it was a theory that said every person was connected on an unconscious level, and that was why legends from around the world shared common symbols.
“Normal people lose their will during sleep. Even when their level of consciousness rises, they merely become aware of their situation as a dream. Ruled by memories and emotions, they are unable to control themselves. However, once in a while, someone regains their self while dreaming.”
“Haven’t you ever had a dream where you realized you were dreaming, Saya?” Hitsuji asked.
“I might have... maybe. I woke up right away, though.”
“Coming to the realization you’re dreaming, and then maintaining the state of sleep is not easy. However, with the appropriate training, the amount of time you can stay in the dream will grow longer. This makes lucid dreaming without time limits possible,” Ran continued. “Thus, once you’re able to act freely in your sleep, there is a vast world of dreams that opens up to you. The Australian aborigines referred to this as Dream Time. We distinguish the two by calling the world of sleep Nightland, and the waking world Dayland.”
“You can do anything in Nightland,” Kaede Tokishima, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, said while munching away at a Yuki no Yado rice cracker. “You know lucid dreams? When someone figures out they’re dreaming, they can control the dream. They can fly, make a character they like appear, even transform themselves. Anything they want. It’s insanely fun.”
“If they go overboard, they can lose control, and then lose lucidity as a result, though,” Midori Sakaimori said while blowing on her cup of black tea to cool it down. “Since you can do anything, you’d want to eat cakes and all the other stuff you like, right? But replicating the sense of taste is pretty hard. I try to do it every time I’m in Nightland, but there’s just no texture or taste. It’s like I’m eating tissues...”
“You just don’t have enough spirit, Tencho.”
“That’s not true. I give it my all, but nothing tastes good. It’s so, so frustrating...” Midori turned an upset look towards Kaede.
“We’re not putting ourselves in danger for all-you-can-eat cake. We Sleepwalkers have a proper mission we’ve set out to accomplish,” Ran said.
“And that’s where defeating the suiju comes in?” Saya asked. Ran nodded.
“Precisely. In Nightland, the suiju—the beings known as sandbeasts, run rampant.”
“Sandbeasts? Beasts of... sand?”
“They were called sandmen in past. The sandman is a fairy that shows up in German folklore — He casts sand into people's eyes, making them fall asleep...”
“Sounds like the old witch, Sunakake Baba,” Hitsuji interjected.
“I think Sunakake Baba just throws sand in your eyes, though... The suiju’s actions showed too little intelligence for them to be called sandmen, so at some point they came to be called sandbeasts instead.”
Beasts... The one Saya had witnessed had certainly taken a form that was far from anything that might be called human. That said, it didn’t look anything like a beast, either. “I don’t really care what you call them, but what exactly are the suiju?” she asked.
“They’re beings that put their roots down in humans, eating into their sleep, and spreading like mold across Nightland. You could call them autonomous dreams, or parasites of the psyche.”
“Eating into their sleep... Is that what’s causing my insomnia?”
“Yes. You most likely have an allergy to suiju. When there are suiju nearby, you are unable to get to sleep, and that drives you into a state of sleeplessness.”
“It’s like you were keeping a cat without ever knowing you were allergic.” Kaede’s metaphor left Ran was unamused.
“Cats are much cuter than suiju, you know.”
“What, that’s the problem?”
“Well, not that it matters... Anyway, those humans who are infected by suiju will have their spirits trapped in Nightland. Eventually, they enter a state where they have no self and act as carriers, spreading suiju across Dayland. If we leave them be, many humans will be infected, and they’ll begin to eat away at Nightland itself, so we need to stop the infection early.”
“So... Are you saying I was about to become one of those carriers, too? Saya asked, but Ran shook her head.
“I think you would have taken a different course, Hokage-san. Because of your suiju allergy, you were unable to enter Nightland, so the suiju parasite would have gone on wearing down your body and soul, and... sooner or later, you would have died.”
To Saya, those words didn’t sound like hyperbole at all. In fact, she was able to accept them pretty easily. What do you mean, “No one ever died from being unable to sleep?” Liars! I would’ve died after all!
“Um, are you all right?” Saya must have gone awfully pale or something of the sort, because Midori was staring at her with concern.
“Uhh, yeah... Thanks.”
“It’s amazing you made it half a year! I’d be dead in three days,” Hitsuji said.
“Nah, that’s way too soon. You gotta hang in there for a week, at least,” Kaede poked fun at Hitsuji.
“You had it rough, Hokage-san, but you’ll be fine now. We Sleepwalkers exist to help people like you!” Ran said, puffing her chest up with pride. “And on that note, I’d like to reintroduce everyone. The four of us here are this town’s Sleepwalkers. I’m the leader, Ran Aizome.”
Still sitting on the sofa, Ran began pointing to each of the other girls in turn and introducing them. “Konparu-san is a Blanket. When she lies side-by-side with someone, she can put them to sleep in no time. She’s a professional at putting people to sleep.”
“A professional at putting people to sleep...?”
“When I’m sleeping, the people around me fall asleep, too. There was even a time I drifted off in class, and when I woke up everyone else was out cold.”
“Whaa...? Why didn’t the teacher wake them?”
“Because the teacher was asleep, too.”
So that’s why she was sleeping in the health room and on the roof, not in class. One of Saya’s questions had been solved. The moment she was satisfied with that answer, words carelessly slipped out of her mouth. “So I’m not the only one who gets sleepy when they’re with Konparu-san, huh.”
“It happens to everyone. Why?”
“Er...”
When she was asked why, Saya didn’t really know.
I wonder why I said that. I mean, I wonder why I thought it would only be me...
“Is it a problem somehow if you’re not the only one?”
Hitsuji looked probingly at Saya.
“It’s not a problem, but... It’s nothing really.”
While Saya was still confused, Ran continued with introductions. “Tokishima-san is a Pillowfighter. That’s a Sleepwalker who’s skilled at fighting in Nightland.”
“F-Fighting?”
“That’s right. Suiju can be pretty aggressive, you know. You let your guard down, they’ll take you out. I’m a little better than everyone else at controlling dreams to fight, so I’ll show you the ropes, Sayacchi.” Kaede gave a flawless smile.
“Midori is a Bedmaker. Her job is to handle beds, bedding, and all the other related equipment. She works behind the scenes to arrange a good sleeping environment for us, as well as looking
after us while we’re doing a Sleepwalk.”
“U-Um, if anything feels wrong while you’re sleeping, tell me. I think I can help,” Midori said humbly with a slight bow of her head.
With all four of them looking at her, Saya squirmed awkwardly on the sofa.
“Erm... Is this everyone? Just the four of you?”
“Right. We’ll have five if you join,” Ran said, leaning across the table. “Like I said yesterday, you have the potential to be a Neversleeper. That’s someone who’s lost sleep, and can enter dreams without being affected by them. Among the Nightkissed, the people who’ve been bitten by a suiju, sometimes a person will awaken special abilities.”
“...What are you telling me to do?”
When Saya faltered, Kaede didn’t hesitate in speaking up. “You don’t have to think hard about it — this is a respectable job people have been doing forever. We dive into Nightland and take out the suiju that infect people. We’re heroes!”
Is it that simple...? While Saya was hesitating, Ran rose from the sofa and began speaking.
“Well then, should we sleep together now?”
“Huh?”
“Whatever you’re ultimately going to do, Hokage-san, first we have to eliminate the suiju that’s infected you.”
“No, I’m fine with that, but what do you mean by sleep together...?”
“Didn’t I tell you? By sleeping side-by-side, Sleepwalkers are able to share their sleep. You’ve already experienced that, haven’t you?”
7
When the other four rose from their seats, Saya timidly followed suit.
Turning to the three beds that had been pushed together, Kaede asked, “Hey, leader, are we gonna use these beds again today?”
“Is there a problem with that?” Ran asked.
“Well, we’ve got Sayacchi, so I was thinking we could change them.”
“Oh... Hokage-san, are you a clean freak? You’re not, right? We’re good here.”
“Why did you ask? I don’t like that you decided my answer for me before I could even give one,” Saya murmured.
“You went to sleep hugging Konparu-san, so you’re clearly not,” Ran scoffed.
“Urgh...”
Saya ended up looking to Hitsuji for help, but Hitsuji acted like it wasn’t her problem. Thinking about it, expecting Hitsuji to bail her out was wrong. If anything, Hitsuji had been the victim in that situation.
“Um, what kind of bedding do you like, Hokage-san?” Midori asked. “It can be a bed or a futon. If you have a preference on the stuffing of your pillow, or the material of your sheets... Anything to do with the type of bedding you like, I think I can get pretty much anything you want.”
Oh, yeah. This girl was the equipment expert, wasn’t she? While internally she was relieved by the change of topic, Saya still cocked her head to the side.
“Hrmm... I don’t really know, to be honest,” Saya admitted. “I tried changing my pillow, along with a bunch of other things, while I was trying to overcome my insomnia, but none of it had any effect.”
“I see, I see. Well, I guess Hitsuji-chan’s your favorite sleeping accessory now, huh.”
“Wha...!”
After having said something incredible as if it was no big deal, Midori smiled and handed a new toothbrush to a now speechless Saya.
“You should brush your teeth before bed. I’ll give you this.”
“I’ll be using the sink first.” Hitsuji produced a tooth-brushing set from her bag and headed for the kitchen. Saya was standing there vacantly while holding the toothbrush, but she finally snapped back to her senses and turned to Ran.
“Just how long are we going to sleep? How many hours...?”
“Good question. Why don’t we do three hours for a start? Everyone is a little different, but generally sleep works in 90-minute cycles, going from shallow to deep and back again. If we plan our Sleepwalks around that as a guideline, it works out well.”
Saya looked at the clock. It was 4:00 P.M. Three hours from now, it would already be dark out.
“Will your folks be okay with that? You should contact them before you go to sleep,” Kaede said, flicking her finger across the display of her smartphone. Saya did as suggested, and fired off a message to her sister saying she’d be late getting home.
Brushing her teeth with the toothbrush provided, she rinsed out her mouth, then came back over to the beds. Everyone took off their coats, undid their ribbons or neckties, loosened their collars and sleeves, and got ready to sleep. They each had a basket for their clothes, and they discarded the clothes they had taken off into them.
“Here, use this.” When Midori gave her a basket, Saya hesitantly began undressing, too. Midori was moving around and working busily, changing the sheets for new ones, setting the alarm clock on the bedside table, and more. She was looking up, with a serious expression on her face, as she adjusted the angle of an air circulator. That made Saya look up, too, and she noticed there was a large industrial air conditioner installed up on the high ceiling. It seemed Midori was making adjustments to keep the air from blowing directly on the beds.
Kaede jumped right into bed. “Sayacchi, you good now? C’mon, c’mon!”
“R-Right.”
I have no idea how to handle this! Saya thought. When she was being asked to sleep with people she was meeting for the first time, how was she supposed to act? It was true that they were just going to be sleeping side-by-side, but she’d gotten more and more tense as she prepared to do so.
“Pardon me...”
“Come in, come in,” Kaede urged.
Hesitantly, Saya got in bed. From the lower point of view, the bed felt awfully wide. There were three queen sized beds lined up with no gaps between them, covered by a massive sheet she could only assume had been custom ordered. There were pillows of various sizes, blankets, and towel-blankets of many colors placed randomly on top of the beds.
“There’s five of us, so it’s probably gonna get hot, but you should put something over your belly at least. You’ll get the runs if you don’t,” Kaede, who was already lying on her back, said.
Ran got into bed next. She was dressed lightly, wearing a sleeveless top and shorts.
“You got changed,” Saya said to Ran.
“My uniform gets wrinkled otherwise. You should bring a set of pajamas, too, Hokage-san. Or you could have Midori pick one out for you, too.”
“No, it’s not like it’s a sure thing I’ll be joining yet...” While Saya was mumbling to herself, Hitsuji energetically plopped herself down next to her, making the bed shake.
“You don’t know when to give up, huh, Saya.” Hitsuji had at some point apparently changed into a pair of Chinese-style pajamas.
“Midori! You hurry up, too!”
“O-Okay!”
Ran must have decided she was satisfied that their sleeping environment was in order, because she called for Midori, who got into bed with them, too. Even with all five of them in bed, there was plenty of space, and they could move around.
“Now then, you take the center, Hokage-san,” Ran suggested, and Saya got flustered.
“Huh? Me?”
“Of course she means you,” Hitsuji said. “You’re the guest of honor at this party, Saya. Come on, come on.”
With Hitsuji rushing her, too, Saya was pushed into the center of the beds.
“Uh... What do I do here?”
“Please sleep in whatever position you want. On your back, your belly, your side, anything goes. Do you want to use a hug pillow?”
“No, I don’t need one... probably.”
She lay on her back, her head resting on a large pillow. The other four lay surrounding Saya, each in the position they preferred. The one thing in common though was that their heads were all turned towards Saya.
When Midori reached out and fiddled with a remote control on the bedside table, the lights went out one after another. Once it was dark, only a small lamp on the coffee table a little ways away continued to
cast a soft light.
Hitsuji was right beside her, so Saya had anticipated falling asleep right away, but the drowsiness just wasn’t coming for some reason. Even once the lights were turned out, she was too excited to sleep—it was almost like she was on a school trip. When she thought of it that way, the way they were in a group of nothing but girls trying to get sleep was similar, too.
“...Um,” Saya opened her mouth and broke the silence. “I’m not falling asleep in seconds like last time, huh.”
“Are you taking it easy today, Konparu-san?” Ran asked, still lying down.
“Since we’re lucky enough to have Saya joining us this time, I was thinking there’s no need to hurry,” Hitsuji answered. “I mean, doesn’t rushing to get to sleep feel like such a waste?”
“It is our first time going to sleep together, after all.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Konparu-san’s Blanket ability is really something. She’s suppressing it most of the time, but I bet if she wanted to, she could have it affect as wide an area as she wants.”
“I’ve actually gotten pretty good at controlling it, you know,” Hitsuji said, sounding just a little proud. Ran turned to Saya and smiled.
“Don’t worry, just relax. The drowsiness will come soon enough, so just let it carry you away. You don’t have to think hard about anything. Just sleep normally...”
“I don’t even remember how to do that anymore,” Saya mumbled.
“It’s okay if you want to keep talking. No matter what you do, as long as I’m here, everyone’s going to end up sound asleep,” Hitsuji replied.
“She’s right, you know. Hokage-san, if there’s anything you wanted to ask, now’s a good time. I’m sure you have all sorts of questions,” Ran offered. Saya thought for a moment.
“Okay, then... How long has all this been going on for?”
“You mean the Sleepwalkers? There have been people serving the same role since ancient times. At my place, there’s ancient documents from the Heian period that talk about spells to be cast on a dreamer’s pillow and more.”
“At your house, senpai?”
“Right. My house is a shrine. I hear we’ve had ties to the Sakaimore family since long ago, but...”
Side-By-Side Dreamers Page 4
