I stare at the ceiling. Shush plays on the rolling table with the bottle cap. It's already nighttime, but I can't sleep. I'm wide awake.

Amata isn't having the best night either. He sleeps restlessly, mumbling gibberish, as if he's having a bad dream.

My mind swirls with thoughts about Amata and Kagura. I love Amata. My past life loves Kagura. Who do I choose? The one that doesn't seem mentally stable and acts like some sort of beast, or the one that I'm not destined to be with and loves me with all his heart? I feel like I should know the answer by now, but I still can't make up my mind. It feels so obvious, and yet it isn't. Romance isn't allowed. If I were to be with Amata, it would have to be secret. If I were to be with Kagura, I could leave and go with him, but I'd be leaving all of my friends behind and who knows what dangers await me if I do go.

Amata's face contorts. He must be having a nightmare. I stroke his hair, hoping that I can possibly calm him down somehow. It doesn't work. He starts mumbling louder and even tosses and turns a little.

He murmurs a name I don't recognize. "Silvia..."

Confusion fills my head. Who's Silvia? I've never heard of a "Silvia". The name sounds close to "Sylvie", but it still sounds different.

Suddenly, he bolts upright, eyes wide. The move is so abrupt that some of the wires and the oxygen tubes are yanked off of him. The machines go crazy, and Amata cries out in pain.

"GAAH!"

"Amata!" I sit up. "Amata! Are you alright?!"

He sat up so suddenly that he hurt himself. He's still sore and weak. He clenches his teeth and breathes heavily. I rub his back in an attempt to soothe him.

"Nngh!"

I can hear a stampede of medical staff bursting into the room. They must've heard the commotion. When they see the scene before them, they start to fix the machines so that they don't beep wildly. They also give Amata a few moments to recover before helping him lie back down and readjusting all the wires and tubes. He almost gulps for air when they put the nasal cannula back on.

"What happened in here?" Doctor Tachibana asks.

"I think it was just a bad dream and he woke up so suddenly that, well, this happened," I reply. "That's it."

One by one, the staff starts filing out of the room. One or two hang back a bit to double check that everything is okay. Then they leave.

Amata's having trouble catching his breath. Sweat beads on his face and both the hospital gown and the bedsheets are soaked.

"Easy! Easy! Breathe!" I put a hand on his chest. "In and out. Just like we did yesterday."

He calms down a little, taking deep, shaky breaths.

"What happened? Did Mykage get to you or something?" I ask worriedly.

He squeezes my hand. "N-no. It-it wasn't like that. It was just a-a bad dream. It was nothing."

"Are you sure? What was the dream about?"

He looks away from me. "I don't wanna talk about it."

That's odd. Why doesn't he want to tell me? Was the dream that bad?

I put my hand under his chin and turn his face towards me, so that I'm looking him right in the eyes. They seem watery, like he's on the verge of tears. What could he have possibly dreamt about?

"Amata, you can tell me anything."

He lets out a trembling sigh. "I dreamt that I lost you."

"Y-you did?" I feel myself shiver.

"I don't know what I would do without you." He balls his hands up into fists. "And I don't know what I'd do if that Kagura got his hands on you."

I grab both of his hands and he relaxes. "It's okay. I'm right here. You haven't lost me."

Amata cares so much about me, and I care a lot about him. What would I do if I lost him? I don't really know. I guess it's understandable that he would be so upset over a dream like that. I would be too.

"In the dream, Kagura had you in his arms. There-there was a gun at my feet. He said if I wanted you back, I had to kill him, otherwise, he would kill you. I-I froze up and I couldn't hold the gun. It brought back memories from that night on the roof, when I got shot. I don't know why, but I started freaking out! And then he-" He cuts himself off as the tears start to trickle down his face. His bottom lip quivers and he breaks down.

I hug him and stroke his hair. "Ssh. It's okay. It was just a dream. It was only a dream and nothing more. It's alright." I dry his face with my sleeve. "I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. I wish there was some way I could take all your pain away."

After a few moments, Shush leaps onto my chest and places the bottle cap before me. Then he growls at Amata.

"Shush! Stop!"

I think of the way that he acted with Kagura. Shush was actually decent around him. Did that mean something? Why is he always especially hostile to Amata and not Kagura?

"You okay?" Amata sniffs. I'm so lost in thought that I'm staring blankly ahead of me.

I blink. "Yeah. I'm fine." I pick up the bottle cap and toss it back on the table. "Go play by yourself, Shush. I'm not in the mood to play fetch."

Shush's ears droop as he jumps back onto the table.

"Kitties, you know? Cute, but high maintenance."

Amata laughs. "Yeah. I see that."

I think for a second before asking, "Amata? Who's Silvia?"

He looks at me, utterly confused. "Silvia? I don't know any Silvia."

"You murmured her name in your sleep."

"I did?" He stares at me blankly.

I nod. "Yeah."

"Well, maybe my imagination is running wild, or something. I guess it's normal for me to have weird dreams." He closes his eyes and his grip on my hand loosens. "Mikono. I'm tired."

"Okay." I give him a peck on the cheek. "Maybe tomorrow I can ask the doctors if we can go outside or something. You could use the fresh air."

He nods without opening his eyes. "Yeah. Sounds good," he says wearily.

I cuddle up to him and I, too, close my eyes.