Title: Remember to Dream

Author: Omnicat

Spoilers & Desirable Foreknowledge: Junichi Sato & co's Prétear; anime-based, with a few added manga details.

Warnings: None.

Characters & Relationships: Himeno & Sasame x Takako

Summary: It's dreams that bring comfort in dark times, it's dreams that tie people's hearts to each other when they're on opposite sides... Himeno, Takako, and Sasame, greatest foes and saving graces, all in one.

Author's Note: This fic refers to and relies heavily on specific sequences of events from the canon, so it's probably best enjoyed with the anime fresh in your memory. The parts in italics are the dreams. Enjoy!

II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II

Remember to Dream

There was something special and different about today that Himeno couldn't put her finger on. Mom and Dad were there, and there were more flowers than she'd ever seen, and somewhere in the trees, a group of seven boys was playing hide and go seek.

Himeno wanted go play. But she wanted stay with Mom too. She just didn't know which she wanted more. Every time she thought of letting go of her mother's hand, she felt like something terrible was about to happen.

"Don't cry, Himeno," Mom said, because that was what Himeno was doing now. "I'm here. There's no need to cry."

Her mother stroked her hair, and Himeno buried her face in the familiar scent. She wanted to stay like this forever.

When she felt herself waking up, it was like her heart broke all over again.

I-oOo-I

It's a common superstition that you should never tell anyone about your dreams, because then they will not come true.

At least, that's what Himeno's father always said when she tried to tell him about hers. Her immediate retort was, of course, that if what he said was true, sometimes you should tell people about your dreams, because who would want nightmares to come true? Her father shook his head, complained that she gave him a headache, and went to look for a cure at the bottom of a sake bottle.

Eventually, Himeno didn't try to tell her father about her dreams anymore. She didn't even know if she really wanted to prevent them from coming true, or...

She gave herself a headache.

Little Himeno wished her mother was still there.

I-oOo-I

Himeno was sitting on a bench in the Hoyos' huge garden. She was lost. Her new stepmother had a butler, didn't she? Taba– Tata– something like that. Why wasn't he here? Why were none of the people she'd love there?

"You poor thing..." Himeno said as a kitten approached. It was crying and shivered in her hands and became so small Himeno almost lost it before she tucked it under her pyjama top. It curled up on her stomach and let Himeno pet it.

A figure appeared at Himeno's side, making the kitten's hairs stand on end. Himeno turned her head and jumped up with a wide smile, clutching the cat to her chest. "Mom, look what I found! It was sad, but I cheered it up."

The kitten hissed when it smelled the flowers in Mother's hair and jumped from Himeno's arms. It vanished without a trace.

I-oOo-I

One of the friendlier and more approachable Hoyo household maids – no, Awayuki household, now – once told Himeno that dreams were often symbolic. They reflected your past, present, and sometimes even your future. She was often like that; insightful, understanding, ready to help – but a little too out of touch with reality, in Himeno's opinion, to quite pull it off. If she wanted fairytales and mysticism, she'd rather go to Yayoi.

When Himeno said she hadn't dreamt in years, it left Mikage speechless and even paler than usual.

I-oOo-I

The kitten was back, but not with Himeno. It had gone to Mawata's room. Himeno pressed her ear to the door and went right through it. The small feline's eyes were an even brighter green than Mawata's.

But just as hurt.

It was Mawata who was crying and who looked lost now. She clutched the kitty to her chest like Himeno had done before, and Himeno left, feeling like an intruder.

I-oOo-I

It is said that you dream every night, even if you don't remember it the following morning. In Leafenia, they even say the dreams you don't remember never leave you, but wait for the right time to surface again. They remain in your heart for when you need them most, a basin of hope and strength.

Sasame told Himeno that, a faraway look in his eyes that, for some reason, reminded Himeno strongly of herself. If it was true, she thought, then her heart must be chock-full of forgotten dreams. The only things that remained of the lively, poignant visions she'd have in her faraway youth were vague, confused emotions that slipped from her mind's grasp like loose sand, fading in the morning light.

I-oOo-I

Himeno and Sasame sat in a Leafenian field together, surrounded by colorful flowers and small heaps of ashes. Himeno was crying, and no matter how embarrassed she was, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face.

"I never meant to make you cry," Sasame said. His eyes were as full of the remorse he wouldn't show during the day as hers were of tears.

Himeno knew.

"Your new uniform isn't black. It's almost the same color as Hayate's," she observed, feeling like it meant something. "It almost looks good on you, you know, without the decorative demon parasite and the cape. But then again, I'm partial against feather boas."

Sasame smiled like it hurt. "That's just like you... to say something like that."

"This is a dream, right?" Himeno looked around and picked a flower. It turned into a clear, multicolored crystal that dissolved in a flurry of Leafé bubbles when Himeno blew on it. "Do you believe in what you told me about dreams? That they're stored in your heart for when you need them?"

"It would be a waste. I know exactly what I've been dreaming of every night since I became a true Knight*, and it's not helping me in the slightest. Right now, it has only led me to hurt all the people I hadn't hurt already..."

A long silence fell. The little cat appeared and crawled between Himeno and Sasame, mewling sadly until Sasame took it in his lap. Himeno saw that its fur was white, except for a patch of black reaching across its ears, the top of its head, its cheeks, and its neck.

"Back again?" Himeno asked, scratching her silky ears. "You poor thing, always so miserable."

"I want to help her, Himeno," Sasame said. "The Princess of Disaster... that's not the real her. But she's been miserable and alone for so long, I don't know how to get through to her."

The kitten looked up at them with wide, pleading emerald eyes. He stroked her cheek with a finger.

"You've been miserable and alone too. Alone in your misery, even," Himeno reminded him. "I was miserable and alone too, once... I think we all were, at some point."

"What would you do if Hayate and the others didn't need or want you anymore?" Sasame asked suddenly. Himeno wasn't sure the segue made sense because it made sense or because it was a dream.

"I'd... cry and break down," she said. "You guys have been my strength, I don't have any of my own yet."

"Takako cried, too. But she's strong, stronger than she ever gave herself credit for. She wouldn't break, but bounced back... whichever way she could find. Her own strength had snapped, so she embraced the strength she knew the darkness she'd fought so desperately to banish, held."

"I think... I think you did the right thing, Sasame. Even though it was the wrong thing. She needs you, just like I need the Knights. And Hayate needs me too, you know? But what about you?"

"All I need is Takako."

"She's lost to herself. You're helping Fenrir like this, not Takako."

"I can't leave her. She wouldn't be able to handle it. Not this time. I was too late... but it can't be hopeless yet."

The cat in his lap mewled to confirm his words.

Himeno knew. "We really made a mess of our hearts, didn't we?"

I-oOo-I

An owl flew against the church window, jolting Himeno from her sleep and scattering the memories.

Left with an odd, disoriented feeling, she questioned Kei during their prét the next day. He told her that dreams were products of the activity of your subconscious. You dream about what is on your mind during the day so it's easier to deal with while awake. Her dream about meeting Fenrir on the bridge was different, but that had been more of a mind-trick than a real dream.

Himeno wasn't satisfied.

I-oOo-I

Takako was curled up on Himeno's bed, her body wracked with sobs. The act itself looked almost as painful as the cause. Himeno wrapped her arms around the heartbroken girl, spooning them together.

"Make it stop," Takako whimpered over and over again. "Make it stop, please, make it stop."

"Don't cry, I'm here now. There's no need to cry."

"Don't leave me," Takako moaned, writhing, clawing at the center of her chest where the demon dug into her heart.

"I won't leave you, I promise."

Takako turned around and buried her face in Himeno's shoulder. "I'm so scared... I didn't want it... I never wanted any of this... it hurts. They used me and abandoned me, and all I wanted was just –"

"– to be loved," Himeno finished. She kissed her. "You are loved, Takako. Open your eyes and you'll see."

I-oOo-I

Himeno had felt like she'd lost the ability to dream years ago. She lived by the day, afraid to look back or ahead, to see emptiness. But when she needed them most she remembered all of her dreams, and they gave her the strength to become the White Prétear.

I-oOo-I

The world was drenched in darkness, but all she could see was white, a shining, glistening white.

Feeding Leafé to the Great Tree was like a dream. Flying, falling, fighting, she went through the motions while the impressions flowed through her. Her heart was filled with feelings beyond the present, reaching from the forgotten past to the unknown future.

It was beautiful. She just needed to get hold of it.

"This is the White Prétear?" Takako breathed. She took the hands Himeno offered her and held on tight. Smiling, Himeno put her down gently before setting off again.

"Sasame." He could hear Himeno's voice in the nothingness. "I won't let it end like this."

He took a first deep breath, hearing his own heart beat again.

"Come, Takako is calling for you."

And he heard Takako's heart, and Himeno's. Takako's was growing stronger and closer, while Himeno's faded away.

She let flow as much Leafé as was needed, and saw her loved ones be healed, restored, and rise again. Her last touch was for Hayate, and she poured her heart and soul, all of her dreams into him, drawing him back from the edge and into her arms.

White. Everywhere, a rainbow-radiant, shining, blinding white.

I-oOo-I

And then... Hayate brought her back with tears and a kiss holding all of his love and dreams.

I-oOo-I

When Hayate finally let her get up and her family relinquished her, Himeno's dress had long since melted away. She spotted Sasame and Takako and wobbled over to them, legs still a bit unsteady. Sasame rushed forward to catch her when she fell. She recognized the look in his eyes, though she'd never seen it while awake.

"Himeno, I –"

She cut him off by wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, taking him by surprise.

"Not a word, Sasame. There's nothing for you to say," she whispered gently in his ear.

The rigidity slowly left his stance, and he hugged her back, burying his face in her hair to say just as quietly: "Thank you. For everything."

When she let go of him, she turned to Takako. The poor thing was shaking like a leaf and she, too, wanted to ruin it all by opening her mouth. So Himeno caught her in a hug too, pressing the trembling body against hers before Takako even knew what hit her.

This feeling was familiar too.

"Mikage was always so kind... I want to get to know the real you better, Takako. So I'm not letting you go. You're stuck with me now!"

Takako laughed shakily.

Stepping back, Himeno pulled Sasame towards herself and Takako, bringing their heads close together. "Can you remember what it's like to dream? To set off after your heart's desire and go on without fear of what is to come, and without regrets about the past?" She took one of Takako's hands and one of Sasame's in hers, and they followed suit, forming a circle of linked hands and gazes and hearts.

"Remember the dreams we shared?" Himeno whispered, her voice only loud enough for the three of them to hear. "They're not just dreams anymore. We can make them come true now."

II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II

PSAN: Comments on older fics will always remain welcome. :)

Legend

* "I know exactly what I've been dreaming of every night since I became a true Knight" – 'A true knight' in the sense of 'a Knight with a Prétear'. Because it isn't of much use to have the title of a knight without a princess, right? ;)