Chapter Text
Yohane is certain some vile demon is attacking her while she sleeps. There is no other possible explanation for the sort of dreams she’s been having. Only a demon could cause her to have these kinds of dreams about her childhood friend. It’s Hanamaru! They’ve been friends for years! No way would she suddenly start thinking of her in that way, much less have such graphic dreams about her-
“Yoshiko-chan, is everything alright, zura?” Hanamaru asks, twisted around in the seat of the bus so she can look at the girl in the seat behind her.
Yohane lets out a surprised squeak at being so suddenly pulled away from her musings. Then the words catch up to her and she shouts: “It’s Yohane!”
Hanamaru, as is her way, only looks on fondly. It’s the way she’s always reacted to Yoshi- Yohane’s antics. There’s nothing different this time, it’s the same as it alway has been - except that’s a total lie, because Yohane now has vivid memories of that look on Hanamaru’s face in some very different contexts. The thought makes her blush. Embarrassed, she looks away. “And anyway, there’s nothing wrong. Yohane is an immortal being, after all, and therefore unaffected by mortal inconveniences such as illness.”
“Tell that to the cold you had last month,” Hanamaru mutters, low enough that she probably didn’t mean for anybody else to hear it. Gracious and merciful as she is, Yohane chooses to overlook her impiety. This time.
“That’s fine, then,” Hanamaru adds, this time in a normal volume, “You seemed to be really worried about something, so I just wanted to see if you were okay, zura”
Warmth blossoms in Yohane’s chest, but she pushes it violently away. Fallen angels are not meant to experience the human emotions that make ordinary people feel warm, like happiness - or, worse, love. “Your concern has been noted, but as I said: nothing is amiss. Perhaps what you saw was me concentrating on keeping the armies of Hell in contr- geh.”
Partway through Yohane’s speech, Hanamaru turns back around. Normally, Yohane would demand more of her attention, but this time she lets it slide. Truth is, she is worried about something. She’s going on a trip to the onsen with the rest of Aqours, where they’ll be staying overnight. If this demon is going to invade her dreams again tonight, and Hanamaru - or any of the other members, really - notices, that would be a problem.
She probably can’t get a seperate room for free and she doesn’t have money to pay for it, so that’s out of the question. Maybe she can stay up the entire night. Or at least wait until everybody else is asleep before she goes to bed as well. That way nobody will be awake to witness the demon corrupt her dreams.
Her plan decided, Yohane decides to try her best to enjoy the rest of their trip. She discusses her most recent stream with Lily, gets absolutely trashed by Ruby in a game of table tennis, and even manages to only stare at Hanamaru a little in the baths. It’s only when they’re all settling down to sleep that she realizes she may have enjoyed herself a little too much, because now she’s pretty tired. Tired enough that she won’t be able to stay up until everybody else has gone to sleep already.
Chika, You, and Kanan are still talking when Yohane starts to drift off. She does her best to stay awake, though she dozes a couple of times, only to be awakened by somebody - Mari, most often - shouting something. She barely manages to hang on until Dia declares they all need to go to sleep. As soon as the lights are turned off, she’s gone. It’s not that bad, though; some people may still be awake, but at least they’ll be asleep soon. It’s unlikely that they’ll notice that demon invading her dreams again.
Soon enough, she gets pulled from the void of sleep and into the land of dreams. She’s playing table tennis against Ruby again, but instead of squeaking in fear every time the ball comes her way, the redhead lets out a mighty roar. Yohane is being soundly beaten. She looks around desperately for something to help her, but all she can see is the other Aqours members, all cheering for Ruby. Only when she turns away from them does she see Hanamaru, standing there like a sturdy rock amidst a raging sea.
“Zuramaru!” Yohane shouts. He voice feels weak and far away. She’s afraid Hanamaru hasn’t heard her, but she does look up. “Please cheer for me!”
Hanamaru nods and smiles. Filled with new determination, Yohane turns back to the game and starts playing in ernest. She scores point after point until one of her shots nails Ruby right in the forehead and she falls backwards and disappears.
Yohane turns around with an elated smile. “I did it! I won!”
“Congratulations,” Hanamaru says. She takes a step closer and suddenly they’re all alone in the baths. “Now for your reward, zura.” And then her lips are on her; her mouth, her neck, other places. Her every touch makes Yoshiko squirm and gasp. It’s like she knows exactly what her sensitive spots are.
“Ha-ah-namaru,” Yoshiko gasps.
Hanamaru looks up at her, a sly smile on her face, but her voice, when she speaks, is worried. “Yoshiko-chan? Yoshiko-chan? Yo-”
“-shiko-chan?”
For a moment, Yoshiko thinks she’s still dreaming. Hanamaru is leaning over her as she was in her dream, lips plump and just shy of being closed. Then reality sets in; it is dark, she’s in a futon, and she can hear the rest of her friends breathing around her.
“Zuramaru?” Yoshiko whispers, so as not to wake the others up. “What’s wrong?” She pauses, then adds, sullenly. “And it’s Yohane, not Yoshiko.”
Predictably, Hanamaru ignores that last comment. “I should be asking you what’s wrong. You were talking in your sleep.”
Yohane’s blood goes cold. “What… what did I say?”
Hanamaru hesitates. Her eyes shift to the side, then back to Yohane again. “My name, zura. I thought…” She swallows; Yohane can see the movement of her neck the action causes. “I thought maybe you were having a nightmare?”
It doesn’t sound convincing, even to Yohane. It’s made even less convincing by the blush staining Hanamaru’s cheeks. Clearly, Hanamaru knows - or at the very least suspects - the real reason Yohane said her name. Still, if Hanamaru is willing to pretend this never happened, Yohane is all too happy to play along. “Y-yeah, exactly. It was a nightmare.”
“Will you be able to go back to sleep, zura?”
Yohane thinks about it for a moment. She’s too embarrassed to fall asleep again anytime soon, but she can at least attempt until Hanamaru falls asleep. “I’ll be fine. Go back to sleep, Zuramaru.”
Hanamaru hesitates a moment longer, then finally leaves to go back to her own futon. Once she’s heard the rustling of sheets that means Hanamaru has settled back in to sleep, Yohane sighs and turns onto her side. She’s going to have to do something about this if she wants to be able to sleep normally again, without that demon assaulting her. Maybe she should have just fessed up, instead of going along with Hanamaru’s excuse.
Oh well. There’s always tomorrow.
