No matter how big a Haruko/Naota shipper I am, I always wondered about this one. And then an author named Tsurumaki did it, and a good job too! Anyways, this is my little Kitsurubami / Naota fic. Enjoy!

We Got The Dreamer's Disease

by Ta-kun

It could't possibly be real. It just wasn't possible. He told himself that over and over in his mind. It's not real. No matter how real it looked, it couldn't be. How real it looked to see her face less than inches away from his own. How real her blonde hair fell against the curve of her cheek and spread over her pillow. How she would wet her full cinnamon lips without realising.

So close he could count the tiny freckles that dotted above her cheekbones. Her half opened maroon eye's sparkling in the moonlight from the window. How she would snuggle further into the sheets and closer to him, her bare shoulder disappearing under the sheet. But it couldn't possibly be real.

No matter how real it felt. How warm her breath was against his neck. And how her chest rose and fell, brushing against him to match every breath. How her whole body felt pressed aganst his. The feel of her small hands pressing into his back. How soft her skin was under his own fingertips, resting on her side as her bare legs tangled with his under her cool sheets. But it couldn't possibly be real.

No matter how real it sounded too. As small crickets buzzed outside in the pitch black of night. Or how he heard her shallow breathing. Or the low murmer of his name.

No matter how real it smelt too. The smell of wildflower shampoo from her hair on the fabric of the pillow he was leaning against. The smell of vanilla from an insence burner on her dresser.

No matter how real it tasted either. The sweet dampness as she pressed her lips to his own. The warmth of her tanned skin as he had kissed along her neck. Or the salty taste from the sweat that had shone on her body.

Wake up kids
We've got the dreamers disease
Age 14 we got you down on your knees
So polite, we're busy still saying please
Friend-emies, who when you're down ain't your friend
Every night we smash their Mercedes-Benz
First we run and then we laugh till we cry

But it couldn't be real. The mere idea of this beauty pressing against him, freed of clothing, in her bed, was just too unbelievable. Not that it wasn't nice. That it wasn't the best sensation he had ever felt to be close like that to someone. No. It was just too unbelievable. But he couldn't think about it. That's the catch of dreams. You watch and that's all. And even now he felt something tug at his consciousness. A hazy warm fuzz begging him to close his eyes. And no matter how much he wanted the dream to stay, to never wake up from it, he still slipped from consciousness. The last thing he saw was her hugging close to him and the question of how, if ever, it could have possibly happened.

But when the night is falling
And you cannot find the light
If you feel your dream is dying
Hold tight

"Naota!"

It had all started, as all things do, on any normal Friday. Except with some differences. Like, for example, the fact that the gas cylinders at Naota's school had sprung a leak, (through very mysterious circumstances) effectivly closing the school for the better part of four days. Deciding to make the most of his son's lack of anything to do, Kamon decided it was the best time to put a plan he had been working on into effect. With a sledgehammer taking care of "Phase one" he grabbed his son's arm and headed to the Mabase mall.

Naota Nandaba turned to the sound of a famillier voice, older and feminine. The teenager waved as Agent Kitsurubami wandered through a crowd of people flowing through the small mall. Her brown cheeks reddened from frustration after having to literally part a couple like a curtain to finally free herself from the tide of travelling people. Naota watched her scowl back at them before standing infront of him.

"I was going to ask what you're doing here, but I guess it's clear your checking the strength of the girders holding up the floor under all those people." Kitsurubami gave Naota a withering look, resisiting the urge to poke her tongue out at him. More than a year had past after the Medical Mechanica incident, the disapperance of the mysterious pink-haired scooter riding woman, and since young Naota had started living his life to the fullest. Kitsurubami had seen Naota around town more and more often, starting with casual "Hi"'s and "Hello"'s before striking up conversations with each other.

Currently though, the youngest Nandaba was standing around outside a tool store, hands in pockets and cap backwards. "And what may I ask are you up to, hm?" Naota gave a sour look and jerked a thumb to the hardware shop. "Dad's buying a whole heap of tools to mend a hole in the wall." Kitsurubami smirked. "And what have you been doing to make holes in the wall, hmm Naota?" Naota smiled sheepishly, laughing at the way she talked to him so easily in such a teasing manner. "Dad made it. On purpose, before you ask."

Kitsurubami blinked. Having met Kamon Nandaba only a handful of times, she didn't have to talk herself into believing the story. It sounded like the insane random thing he'd do. Rather she tried not to think of why he'd do it, being the hentai he was. "Uh, Im probably gonna regret this but.. why?" Naota looked back towards the shop, pointing and moving towards the agent so she could see the point of his finger. Having grown slightly in height over the months she didnt have to lean down, just merely lean over his shoulder. Inside Kamon was talking excitedly to attendants, a wheelbarrow full of equipment she was sure he didn't know the names of.

"See the attendent in there?"
"The one wearing the hat with a drill imbeddeded in it?"
"No, other side."
"Oh, the one with the saw in it?"
"Close, but wrong side."
"Oh! The one with the hammer on top!"
"Yeah! Dad fancies her."
"And the plot thickens."

Kitsurubami grinned and stood tall, Naota looking up at her at shoulder and neck level. "Good luck Naota. Unless that whole thing about apples falling far from trees is true, maybe that'll be you one day." Naota's eyes goggled at her before he had a fit of laughter, and the Immigration agent couldn't help but think of something along the lines of "When pigs fly and trees grow from ceilings and the Commander shaves his eyebrows, then maybe."

Sparing a look to her watch, Kitsurubami did a double take and hissed. "Im late! I gotta get back before my break ends, or I can kiss my weekend goodbye!" Naota's fits slowed and he gave her a parting look. "Okay.. Weekend?" Looking down while fishing her badge out of a pocket, she nodded quickly. "I finally got a weekend break, and I was promised if I got all these.. tasks done!" She paused, putting her recovered badge between her teeth to pull a list from her breast pocket and wave it about. "The' I might get tonight off as an early treat! But if I don't get my butt back there soon I may as well not bother."

Pinning her shield to the clip of her uniform, Kitsurubami gave Naota a parting wave and started to head towards the crowd. Looking behind her she saw him look back to the store, shaking his head as inside Kamon Nandaba was leaning very far over the counter, trapping the said-hammerhead employee in a corner. Kitsurubami sighed when lightning struck in her mind, and quickly she headed back to Naota.

Four a.m. we ran a miracle mile
We're flat broke but fuck we do it in style
The bad rich
God's flying in for your trial

"Hey, Naota! What you up to tonight?"
Naota looked up at her and back to his father. "Dunno. Wait and see how long it takes for them to ring the police maybe..."
She grinned. He was free! "Well, if I do get off early, there reopening the cinema after renovating it. Wanna go see?" Naota's mouth went dry. 'Isn't that like a date." he thought. 'But then.. I thought Im supposed to ask her out for it to be a date..' Not being able to decide if it was a date or not, and knowing he was making the whole thing slip away from making Kitsurubami late, he finally agreed and she ran off, waving behind her.

So when the agent's tiny car picked him up, Naota looked twice to see her out of uniform for perhaps the third time ever, dressed in simply a large shirt, jacket and skirt. It really wasn't very different from her uniform, except the lack of the official sharpness and less...blue. So why did it look like a whole new outfit? Maybe it was the way she sat with the shirt untucked and bottom button undone, looking casual and informal.

Apart from a minor argument on who should buy tickets and who should by the essentials such as sodas and popcorn, Naota settled inside one of the plush new cinema seats, Kitsurubami falling into the seat next to him. At once the Immigrations officer leaned over Naota, grabbing her large Creaming soda from him and her bag of candy. "What did you get?" she asked, motioning towards his drink while he was trying to figure out which cup holder was his. "Same." he answered as she tapped the one betweenthem and he dropped it inside. "Sweet tooth too, hm?" Kitsurbani grinned at Naota as the curtain pulled back and the previews started.

Naota watched the movie with half interest. From what he could gather it had something to do with some big legal issue and mystery solving. It was strange because it obviously came from overseas somewhere, redubbed over. Something must've been lost in the translation, he reasoned. All he really noticed was names like Nakomoto and something about a tall building. What he was more interested in was the sublte fact that everytime he went for his drink his arm brushed up against Kitsurubami's, making him wonder if she picked the right holder or not.

Come the end of the movie it was late, but it felt early still. As if the whole thing had taken, at most, 40 minutes. He still couldn't really get over just how different she looked and how casual she could make a shirt and skirt look. There was something about the time mentioned, and then Kitsurubami's car. Without even realising Naota had answered soemthing and they were driving somewhere, and the teenager expected her to drop him off at his house in a minute or so. A minute or so later however he was sitting on her couch at her small apartment and she had handed hima cup of coffee. "Well you said 'Yeah' to a cup of coffee, Naota. Hope you take 2 sugars. If you like sweet stuff I just sort of guessed see..."

"Ohh..." Naota sipped his coffee, able to take a mouthful of it and noticing she had added milk too. He didn't drink much though and when Kitsurubami came from her small kitchen with her own, she sat down next to Naota and crossed her legs, distracting him so much he spilt most of it down his parka. "Sorry!" she said, quickly trying to wipe some of the coffee out while undoing the zipper, sure it was still hot. Naota was aying how it wasn't any problem and went for the zipper at the same time, somehow grabbing her hand.

This whole damn world can fall apart
You'll be ok follow your heart
You're in harms way
I'm right behind
Now say youre mine

Kitsurubami suddenly noticed she was leaning over him, hands on the zipper of his jumper (not to mention his hand over hers) and within very close proximity to each other. Naota's cheeks reddened as she chewed her lip. "You're blushing Naota..." she teased. "Who wouldn't if someone attractive was leaning over them?" Naota slapped his own hand over his mouth, not believeing what he had just said. Kitsurubami's eyes widened before she giggled at the sight of a shocked teenager, eyes large and hand clasped over his lips in horror.

"You think Im attractive?" she teased, and not waiting for an answer peeled his hand away. "Aw, c'mere." Kitsurubami leaned forward, quickly giving Naota a small kiss. The plan was to make it only the one. So it surprised them both when one became two, then three, then a very long fourth. In Naota's muffled memory, he remembered Kitsurubami's hand's on his face and the sounds of buttons popping open...

You've got the music in you
This world is gonna pull through
You've got a reason to live
Can't forget you only get what you give

Naota woke with a start, eyes flying open before slamming shut against the light. The vived dream still echoed in his mind. Everything leading up to what seemed like falling asleep next to Kitsurubami. It had seemed so real... but it just couldn't have been. But God was it strong in his mind. "What day is it even?" he groaned to himself.

The sheets behind him moaned in response, shifting weight. Something snuggled up against him, a sleepy voice accompanying it. "Saturday, so let me sleeeeeep, Naota..." Kitsurubami pulled her sheets up over her head, resting against his back. Naota's eyes opened again, feeling her breath against his spine as she softly slept. He opened his mouth and closed it again, repeatedly trying to get words to come out, but everytime failing at the thought of waking her up. Her breathing against him was starting to lull him to sleep again, and he finally gave in. "I guess it was real afterall.." he murmered before giving into the warmth spreading on his back.

*************