→ 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 (𝐧𝐚𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢)

xiii. dreaming

          a dark room. utterly silent. so silent it was deafening.

          a podium. a faceless boy with dusty brown hair, being purported by a girl with blue hair, who was grinning unnaturally wide. the girl took a knife to the boy's face, cutting a smile similar to her own into his flesh. his eyes formed, dull and emotionless.

          two figures.

          one the puppeteer, one the puppet.

          togami tried to move, but found that he was paralyzed where he was standing. his eyes started to water from not being able to blink and he tried not to focus so hard on naegi's smile, now dripping blood.

          make it stop, togami thought. i can't stand to see him in such pain. please god, make it stop. make naegi stop hurting. please.

           suddenly, naegi's cut smile tore further open. a scream of pain ripped from his throat. togami found himself screaming too.

           "NAEGI!" togami yelled, reaching out and sitting up in his bed. he was drenched in sweat and his covers were thrown off the bed in a panicked frenzy that togami had no recollection of. the boy pushed his hair back, exhaling shakily. it was just a dream, he soon realized. thank god. togami picked up his cell phone from his bedside table, taking a glance at the time.

          1:55.

          it wasn't too late for a shower, right?

          togami kicked the rest of the covers off himself and silently made his way to his bedroom's attached bathroom, shutting the door behind him and turning on the water. togami allowed the steam to fill the room, trying to relax himself before peeling off his sweat-drenched pajamas and stepping into the shower. togami quickly cleaned himself, mind racing with thoughts of naegi's anguished shrieks still echoing in his skull. togami sighed and shut off the water, running his hands through his hair as he carefully stepped out of the shower and redressed himself.

          shutting off the light in the bathroom, togami blindly stumbled back to bed. he felt around in the dark, bumping into his bed and climbing into it. he sleepily pulled the covers back up over his head and letting himself drift back into sleep.

•

          a dark room.

          two figures.

          and a blinding pain tearing at his limbs.

          naegi screamed in terror and agony, the two twisted people with their claws digging into naegi not caring at all. they were both smiling and laughing as they raked their nails across naegi's flesh, pulling at his limbs.

          an arm came off. the two figures fought over who would consume it, getting into a fight of their own while discarding their prey. naegi gripped the empty space where his arm once was, watching and sobbing as the two figures devoured his detached limb.

         one with blue hair, one with blond.

          they were disturbingly familiar. their cries of "love me! pick me!" were familiar. naegi recoiled in horror, suddenly feeling dizzy. perhaps this was the loss of blood...

          darkness.

          naegi shot up in bed with a yell, clutching at his arm. it was still there. he was dreaming. "holy shit..." naegi mumbled, eyes wide. that was one of the most realistic dreams he'd ever had in his life. naegi grabbed his inhaler from his bedside table, taking in a puff, hoping this feeling of restlessness and shortness of breath would go away.

          naegi gently pushed himself back into bed, turning over on his other side. the boy closed his eyes, trying to breathe normally as he drifted off again.

•

          the next morning at school, togami entered the classroom to hushed discussion and another instance of naegi sleeping at his desk. he looked completely exhausted. togami couldn't help but wonder if he'd had a similar type of dream to his own as he slid into the seat, trying to be quiet as possible.

         "stop it... please..." togami turned to see naegi, talking in his sleep. the blond shook him, attempting to wake him from his sleep, when naegi continued to mumble. "it hurts..." togami simply shook him harder until he gasped and woke up, coming nose-to-nose with togami yet again.

          togami was caught off guard by this once more, and quickly hid his surprise with a smirk. "you talk in your sleep," he laughed slightly.

          "oh, i-i'm sorry. i didn't mean to interrupt you. i had a rough night, it's just that i—"

          "don't apologize. it was cute." togami snapped his book shut, a sudden burst of confidence surging through him as he glanced at kirigiri, watching him silently from the corner of the room. "as per usual."

          "wh-what?" naegi's face went red, and togami smirked again.

          "you heard me just fine," togami purred. "kitten."

•

a/n: hey guys! i felt like writing a short little chapter, so two in one day, woo!! it was super fun : ) love you all!! <3