Dusk: Dreams of

A/N: [J]=Japanese

I hold my umbrella up as I tug my suitcase behind me. Tokyo can be a confusing place during your first visit, and I made the mistake of not charging my phone at the airport. I sigh, the rain providing a bit more misery than my situation already warranted. After dinner at an authentic restaurant, I buy a cake, planning to celebrate my friend's birthday tomorrow. As I begin crossing a bridge to where I've been told my hotel is, I see a sight I never expected.

I drop the cake, suitcase, and umbrella as I race over to the woman standing on the bridge rail. "Don't jump!" She looks to me, eyes wide with surprise, but when she adjusts her feet, she slips, going over the edge. Luckily I'm close enough to grab her by the boot, her weight nearly pulling me over the edge, myself. I try my hand with my limited Japanese vocabulary: "[J] I'm here!"

She looks up, eyes still wide, "D-Dus-kun!?" Her voice sounds familiar to me, and I make the connection with my online username almost immediately.

"Saku-san?!" My surprise causes my hand to slip a bit, the raven-haired woman dangling below me. "[J] I'm here! I've got your flank!" Unfortunately, most of my Japanese comes from playing video games, and some I've learned from anime. I plant my knees and feet against the rail and bring my other hand onto her shin, pulling up as much as I can. "I'vvvve got you! You're nnnot gonna fall!"

"Ah, ah! Dus-kun!" I can't pay much attention to my friend, my muscles burning from the strain of attempting to lift another person.

Come on! Come on! "Come on!" I lift with all my might...

...but my hand on her leg slips...

...and her boot comes off...

I fall backward, before getting up as quick as I can, gazing over the edge. Below me, the river crashes against the supports of the bridge, not a sign of life in sight. I slump against the railing, defeated. "...sakurai..."

I don't know when I stood back up again, but I was there a long time, remembering the **** of my friend. A year already? Time flies...I guess... As I turn, about to walk away from the moment of silence, I see a confused blond woman standing in the road, looking all around her. We lock eyes, and...something about her seems very familiar. Suddenly, I see lights - headlights - coming from down the road. I look to the side, then rapidly between the truck and the woman standing before me. Without thinking, I drop my umbrella as I race over to the woman standing on the bridge road. "Move!"

Her eyes go wide with surprise, but when I go to push her out of the way, my hands phase right through her? I hear a honk and the screeching of tires on wet road, before I feel everything goes black.

Do you want the chance to save her again?

I shoot up in my bed, breathing heavy and holding my head, tears in my eyes. How... That...was definitely Sakurai...but...who was that voice? Did I actually forget that I heard that...or was it just part of the dream? Blobby wraps herself around my other arm, rubbing it with one of her tendrils. "I...I'm fine..." I pat the slime on the...'head'. "Just a dream..." I look out the window, having a perfect view of the moon. "...or some memories..." I take a deep breath, pursing my lips together. "Sakurai...I don't know what it is, but I'll help in any way I can."

"Move!"

The man pushes into her as the lights brighten, tires screech, and a horn blares, and she wakes up, drenched in sweat...or rain... It was always hard to tell when it came to dreams in this world... The elf pushes herself out of bed and begins pacing: a new habit she had acquired in this world. The whole year since her arrival, it'd been mostly the same dream, but for the past week or so, that last part was there. She'd be back home, only to witness the **** of the man who tried to save her. She had gotten used to the pain of plummeting into the cold waters of Japan on a nightly basis, but...watching someone die right in front of her was new.

She paces to the glass door leading to the balcony and heads outside, still in her silk pajamas. She gazes over the capital bathing in the moonlight, thinking of all the people she helped save...but there was still that empty feeling inside. Recently, it was even worse. If that dream...if it actually happened... She holds her head in her hands. "[J] Oh gods, what do I do?"