The following post was written in response to Stiles Long's writing contest. Each participant was given a list of KS character pairings and a list of locations. One of each was chosen for this fic.
There were a limited set of options available to participants in the contest and it may be that this fic resembles others. Any such resemblance is coincidental.
The prompt chose was Suzu and Emi being snowed in. I don't know why I chose this, but this is the result. Enjoy.
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Suzu's Journal
Dream Journal Entry 49, 9/1/07
I fell again. I tried to contain my laughter but the physical pain I felt trying to hold it in was unbearable. The mental pain was a whole different story. I’d curse Akio for making my laugh so hard when he knows my condition, but it wasn’t his fault. I normally don’t let it get to me. The first time he sees me laugh, my cataplexy acts up. How embarrassing. Thankfully I wasn’t on some set of stairs this time. It was just a typical fall on some concrete, nothing that would arouse any suspicions other than the fact that my body lay slumped over for a few more seconds than usual. Lots of people looked, I’m sure, but I was too busy trying to fight off the cataplexy to notice. Akio looked completely bewildered, and Lezard… Well, he looked more annoyed than anything, like the typical ass he is.
I had to go to the nurse right after that. He did a bunch of tedious tests, constantly asking “Are you okay?” and whatnot. The stuff a nurse is supposed to ask, I suppose. Then he asked about my braced knee. I tore my ACL in that one. He’s always asking about it, despite that happening about a year ago. He then told me that I should think about running in the morning with his “spy.” I told him it was way too cold in the morning to do anything but read, and he just stared at me with his little annoyed face until I gave in. How annoying.
I didn’t have time to write out any dream other than the one I had right after my nurse visit. It was snowing, but the snow looked grey, almost like soot or something. When I looked up, the entire school turned out to be on fire. I started running, as best I can in a dream obviously. Trying to run in a dream is like trying to run in quicksand for some reason. However, as I was running, everything around me started to catch on fire too. Then I looked down at myself. Turns out I was on fire, and I guess I was leaving a trail of fire behind me? I woke up right after that.
See, my shrink told me writing my dreams down would make sense of them, but it just makes them more confusing. I mean seriously, what’s the meaning in a dream like that? Nothing, probably.
Dream Journal Entry 50, 10/1/07
I didn’t have much trouble waking up this morning. Also didn’t have any dreams or nightmares. That’s a good sign, I think. One of the girls in the lounge area made hot cocoa. That was very nice of her to do, though it did taste like sweat. I didn’t say that to her face, but I did dump it out when she wasn’t looking.
Yamaku got a bit of snow, so heading to the track area was a bit more difficult. Thankfully I remembered that the school gave us track suits for the winter, otherwise I would have became a popsicle. When I got there, it turned out that the Nurses’ spy was none other than Emi Ibarazaki herself. A track star was helping me out with my own exercise. How exciting. I’m so excited. Wee.
She was nice enough. A bit overenthusiastic, but nice. Her endless amounts of energy made me extremely jealous, as here I was with bags under my eyes and with less energy than an elderly woman on her 99th birthday. The running was easy to begin with, but with Ibarazaki constantly lapping me, I started to develop an inferiority complex. I pushed myself harder than I normally do, and in the end I’m laid out along a cold bench as I feel my life force slipping away. And then she just giggled at me. What a horrible little gremlin she is.
My dream right after that was, funny enough, about track. However, it was a race between a few people. Ibarazaki wasn’t there, instead Miura was. She was racing a few people who I didn’t really recognize, alongside a cheetah. The cheetah destroyed them all. It wasn’t even a contest. However, they apparently caught the cheetah doping up before the race, so he was disqualified. Turns out there was an entire scandal about it, and Yamaku was suddenly flooded by a crowd of reporters. So much so I couldn’t even get out of the little bleachers area of the track. I woke up after it started getting really claustrophobic.
What the hell are these dreams?
Dream Journal Entry 51, 11/1/07
Ibarazaki invited me to lunch after our next run. Apparently she has lunch on the top of the roof of the school, which I informed her is a terrible idea as it’s like zero degrees out. After a bit of back and forth, I got her to have lunch in the cafeteria like a normal person, only she was pouting the entire time. She invited Tezuka, which I didn’t mind after first. However, Tezuka and her started to get into an extremely odd conversation about turtles, and I had to mentally check out of the rest of the day right after that.
I don’t want to remember this latest dream. Ever.
Dream Journal Entry 52, 12/1/07
Bleh.
Today was just bleh.
Nothing more to say than that, really. I don’t want to remember it.
My dreams were fine, I suppose. They were just everyday events, like eating, watching a movie, going on walks. Stuff that I thought I was doing, but it ends up being a dream. It screws with my memory way too much. Infact, looking back, it’s hard to remember was was a dream and what wasn’t. How annoying.
Dream Journal Entry 53, 13/1/07
I’m the biggest idiot on the planet.
The forecast said nothing about a blizzard, as far as I knew. So when me and Ibarazaki were out and about having our little run, I expected everything to be completely fine. What I did not expect was for us to be immediately hit with a snowstorm out of nowhere. Seriously, one minute there was just light snowfall, and the next minute we almost go flying away, given how small we both are. Being the very intelligent individuals we are, we decided that the best sanctuary would be the track shed. Yes that’s correct. The track shed.
That’s where we are at the moment. I had to sleep directly after, and Ibarazaki was kind enough to suggest me to lay on the dirty gym mats they have there. After I very politely explained why that is a bad idea, she was then kind enough to let me use her lap as a pillow. I will be the first to admit here that she does provide a nice lap pillow.
My dream wasn’t really a dream. I was awake, but I couldn’t move. Not at all. Everything was dark, and all I felt was this paralysis on me. Then my body started to feel heavy. It started to feel like I was sinking into the floor, or something. When I sprung awake, I accidently hit Ibarazaki with my head on hers. It hurt like hell, and she looked pissed. Though eventually she started to be much more concerned with me than herself. Constantly asking if I was okay and what not. I was, but I enjoyed being pampered, so I played up my pain just a bit. I stopped after she started to get really upset.
Dream Journal Entry 54, Continued 13/1/07
Okay. Okay, okay. There’s snow covering the door. I’m freaking out, but Emi seems perfectly content to stay here till the snow clears up. The problem is that we don’t know when that will happen. So it’s extremely possible that we could be here for a few hours, maybe even a day or two. Hell if we know. And what’s worse is that our phones are both dead. Didn’t remember to charge the damn thing before bed last night. Seems like Emi doesn’t really pay attention to her phone either, as that’s dead too. What awful timing.
I fell asleep again after exhausting myself with my paranoid ramblings. Emi was listening to it all, reassuring me throughout. Though towards the end, she seems flustered over the whole thing. My dream this time was strange. I was on a boat in a sort of shallow pond. All around me were glowing fish that you see in those education channels on tv about the abyss. Eventually some of them started jumping onto my boat. One by one, the boat filled up with these weird glowing fish. I woke up right after one of the fish hit me in the face.
I’ve given up on finding any sort of meaning in these dreams.
Dream Journal Entry 55, Continued 13/1/07
Emi asked me a few things. I guess it was her way to make small talk. I told her a lot about the literature club and stuff. She didn’t seem to be interested in hearing about books and all that, though. Eventually we started talking about movies. It’s hard to believe she’s never seen Ringu. I figure that movie is like classic horror. She’s also never seen the Ju-on: The Grudge either. When I asked her exactly what scary movies she has watched, she just shook her head.
Last dream was not one to remember.
Dream Journal Entry 56, ??/1/07
It’s starting to feel like days in this track shed. In fact, I’m having a hard time determining how long we’ve actually been in this place. Emi tells me not very long, but I’m starting to not believe her. In fact, I know she’s lying to me. I’ve slept what, like three times already, and yet I’m supposed to believe that only a few hours have passed? No way. Thankfully, the blizzard seems to have stopped, judging by the lack of extreme winds. However, the door still doesn’t budge. So we’re trapped in her till someone comes to help, or the snow melts. Both can take ages. And yet Emi is all smiles… There’s no way she’s not planning something
No dreams. I forced myself to stay awake incase Emi tries anything. Though… Why would she try anything now after I’ve already fallen asleep on her a few times?
Maybe she just wants me to think of it in that way so she can gain my trust…
Dream Journal Entry 57, ??/1/07
She finally asked me about my journal. I just told her that is was a dream journal, which is technically true. I really should only be putting my dreams in this thing, but if I just mention that writing whatever in it is therapeutic, then my therapist won’t care. I need to hide this thing. If she reads it, and then finds out about my suspicions, then she might decide to off me instantly. If someone does find this, and I’m missing, then the primary suspect in the case should be a Miss Emi Ibarazaki. I am most likely dead at this point. Please give all my belongings to my younger sister. Also, my computer harddrive should be wiped and destroyed, with its pieces being spread out across Japan where it can never be found. For classified reasons.
Dream Journal Entry 58, ??/1/07
I couldn’t keep awake any longer, but thankfully Emi didn’t murder me this time. As far as I know, hiding the journal under a few mats worked, as it was in the same place as it always was. My dream this time was about a train. The train looked like a typical metro car, only it was completely empty. Eventually, various animals started to enter the train. Lions, Tigers, Pandas, Deer, and a few others. They all ignored me, until one particular animal came in. It was a bee, or a wasp. I don’t quite remember, but it was buzzing all around me in particular. I tried to escape out of the train car, but running in dreams never works. Eventually the insect landed on my nose, and I could vividly see it sticking it’s long, pointed stringer directly into me.
I woke up right after that. Emi was nowhere to be seen at first. I started to freak out, grabbing a nearby golf club to defend myself. However, it turns out she was just hidden behind some gym mats, laying down to take a nap herself.
I don’t buy that one bit.
Dream Journal Entry 59, ??/1/07
X|O|O
O|X|X
X|O|O
X|O|X
X|O|O
O|X|O
O|O|X
X|X|O
O|X|O
Emi forced me to play Tic-tac-toe with her. I was too scared to win, or let her win. I thought maybe either of those could be a countdown of some kind. She gets three wins and I’m toast. Or, if she lost, she’d get angry, and I’d be dead. So I just had to force ties the entire time, though eventually I got worried she’d be bored of tying and end me for that. I must appease her to stay alive. She’s still telling me the lie of it only being a few hours since that blizzard hit. With my stomach rumbling, I can tell it’s a lot longer than that. Thankfully I packed water, otherwise I’d have to share hers. No doubt in my mind that she’d try to poison it.
Maybe she set this entire thing up. Maybe we’re not snowed in at all, and instead someone that’s working for her has blocked the door with something heavy. Once she gets me, she calls them and they dispose of me without anyone noticing. Assuming she’s lying about her cell phone being dead, which I bet she is. Either way, I have to stay awake.
If you find this, I’m dead.
Dream Journal Entry 60, 13/1/07
Freedom! The track captain apparently shoveled the snow out the front door as I was falling asleep. I thought Emi was going to get me this time for sure, but the captain saved me just in time. I ran out of the shed with my notebook, much to Emi’s disappointment. The track captain should be fine, given that I'm a potential witness in case he goes “missing.” Though I have no doubt that Emi might try to dispose of me if she decides to go after the track captain. Either way, I’m locking my door.
Much to my surprise, it has only been a few hours since morning. I guess she wasn’t lying in that regard. Still, I don’t think I’m going to go on any more morning runs after that. Killer or no, I don’t trust that little gremlin.
My dream after taking another nap in my bed was terrifying. I seemingly woke up to find that I was still in the shed with Emi. The blizzard was still roaring outside, and the door was still jammed shut. What was worse, was that I was writing in my journal, almost verbatim what I’m writing right now. And all of my entries were exactly the same as how I wrote them before.
Talk about Deja Vu.
