Deep within Yumenotobari—the hidden realm that unfurls behind the mind of every sleeping creature—lies Nakatsuji, where countless dream-paths converge. At its center stands a small, warmly lit café: Tobari-tei. Open "whenever someone is asleep," it welcomes wandering dreamers with the scent of coffee and the quiet comfort of a place that has existed since the very first creature ever dreamed.
Its master, Belmond Banderas—Bel to those who know him—has tended this counter for five hundred million
Belmond Banderas Tends the Bar Today, Too - The vanished light and a smile on the verge of breaking
The interior of Tobari-tei fell completely silent.
The warm lights that had, until just moments ago, illuminated the movie posters on the walls and the grain of the counter had all gone out, every last one.
Black mist. Countless eyes. Nightroar had swollen until it nearly touched the ceiling.
From its body, black tentacles stretched out, one after another, slithering. Their target: the particles of light drifting through the air.
The warm-colored fragments of dreams that had spilled from the Moonlight Ramune Yume drank. The light of memories from when Aisha laughed. The lamp-glow of memories of Jirou quietly reading a book.
One after another, they were being sucked into Nightroar.
"Ah... aah..."
Yume let out a small voice from the back room. A small head with shoulder-length black hair tied in two bunches. Her deep navy eyes wavered with unease in the darkness.
"Everyone's light... it's being eaten..."
"Stay back."
Bel's deep voice echoed through the dark.
But that voice was just a little stiffer than usual.
Nightroar swelled with every bit of light it absorbed.
In the blink of an eye, its body grew until it was pushing up against the ceiling of the shop.
"Wait, hold on, let me process this! It's, like, how many times bigger than before?!"
Jirou shouted from the corner of the shop. Dull light-blue hair. Odd eyes—silver on the left, pale purple on the right. The crescent moon tattoo on his neck glowed faintly in the darkness.
"It's absorbing light and growing. At this rate, the shop won't hold."
"I can see that just by looking! What do we do?!"
Jirou's voice was trembling.
That was when it happened.
Nightroar's countless eyes all turned toward Yume at once.
Swivel. Swivel. Swivel.
Dozens of eyes stared fixedly at Yume.
"...No."
Yume's voice grew thin.
"Don't look at me... don't look..."
Yume covered her face with both hands.
But Nightroar's eyes slipped through the gaps between her fingers, reaching deep into her heart.
An image floated up in the darkness.
A school classroom. Lunch break.
Yume sat alone at her desk. The other kids around her were all chatting happily. The seat next to Yume was empty.
"...Uu."
The image changed.
The way home. From behind Yume, who wore a school backpack, she could hear the voices of girls.
"Hey, that girl's going home alone again."
"Poor thing. I heard no one ever walks home with her."
"Better not talk to her. She's kind of gloomy."
Yume walked on, pretending not to hear. But her steps grew slower and slower.
"Stop it..."
Yume sank down onto the floor.
She pressed both hands over her ears, trembling faintly.
"Stop it... I don't want to remember..."
Nightroar's eyes kept staring at her, as if drinking in her suffering.
"Yume-chan!"
Bel rushed over to Yume's side.
But Yume didn't respond.
"Yume-chan, look at me. It's all right."
Bel placed a hand on Yume's shoulder.
Yume's body was cold as ice.
"...Everyone hates me."
Yume's small voice vanished into the dark.
"That's not true. No one hates you."
"But... but no one ever plays with me. Just having me around makes everyone look troubled."
Yume's tears fell to the floor.
"If I weren't here, everyone would have more fun. When I'm around, everyone's dreams get broken."
"Yume-chan!"
Bel's voice rose just a little.
Nightroar reacted to Yume's sorrow and swelled even more.
The shop was being swallowed by darkness.
"Bel-san, do something! At this rate, Yume-chan is going to—!"
Jirou shouted, leaning against the wall. His leg dragged slightly—he must have hurt it when Nightroar slammed him earlier.
"I know."
Bel crouched down in front of Yume.
And then he smiled warmly.
"Yume-chan, let me tell you something good."
Yume slowly lifted her face.
"This shop, you see, really suits curry. Why, you ask? Because curry feels at ease when it's with rice."
Bel said it in a bright voice.
Silence.
"...Rice... feels at ease...?"
Yume looked at Bel with a blank expression.
"That's right! Curry rice! So it's at-ease rice! ...Just kidding."
Bel laughed at his own pun.
But.
Yume didn't laugh.
"..."
Yume hung her head again.
"Huh? That's strange. I thought that one was pretty good."
Bel gave a wry smile.
"Let me try another. Hmm, this shop really suits bread. Why, you ask? Because bread calls in customers, so it's bread-callers... no, that's not right either."
Bel's voice sped up just a little.
"Yume-chan, are you listening? Next one—this shop really suits tea. Why, you ask? Because when you drink tea, you feel relieved, so it's relie-tea! ...How about that?"
Yume didn't move, her hands still over her ears.
"...Bel-san, please stop."
Yume's voice was wet with tears.
"I can't laugh. I'm scared, and sad, and I can't laugh."
"Yume-chan..."
Bel's smile vanished for an instant.
"Then I shall make her laugh!"
Aisha burst forward, her silver hair flying wildly. Silver hair that reached her waist. Blue streaks here and there. Her star hair ornament flickered in the darkness.
"Watch, Yume! This is the result of my special training! Ready, set—ta-da-da-da-daaah!"
Aisha spread both arms wide and struck a bizarre pose.
"...Ahaha."
A small laugh escaped Yume's lips.
"Oh! She laughed!"
"Uh, I think that was more of a twitch than a laugh..."
Jirou called out from a distance.
"Silence! A laugh is a laugh!"
Aisha glared at Jirou with a pout.
But that was when it happened.
Nightroar's tentacle stretched out, aiming for Aisha's feet.
"Aisha-chan, look out!"
Jirou, dragging his injured leg, threw himself in front of Aisha.
The tentacle swept across Jirou's body.
"Gwah!"
Jirou was slammed to the floor.
"Jirou!"
"Dammit... why is it always me...!"
Jirou gritted his teeth, still lying on the floor.
"Jirou... because of me... again, because of me, Jirou got—!"
Large tears spilled from Aisha's golden eyes.
"Because I charged in, Nightroar got bigger, and everyone got hurt... because of me, everyone..."
Aisha collapsed to the floor and wailed.
"Aisha-chan, that's not true. It's not your fault."
Bel placed a hand on the counter and slowly stood up.
His legs were trembling slightly.
"Because you were here, Yume-chan was able to laugh. If you hadn't charged in, we might not have been able to do anything at all."
Bel walked over to Aisha and gently stroked her back.
"It's all right. It's not over yet."
But his voice was faintly shaking.
Nightroar swelled even more.
The shop's pillars creaked and snapped.
CRACK.
Part of the ceiling came crashing down.
"Bel-san! Above you!"
Jirou shouted.
Bel instantly grabbed Yume and Aisha and dove to the floor.
BOOOM!
Fragments of the ceiling rained down onto Bel's back.
"Bel-san!"
Yume screamed.
"I'm fine... I'm fine."
Bel had spread his whole body over Yume and Aisha, shielding them.
Wood splinters were lodged in his back.
"Bel-san, you're bleeding..."
"Don't worry. It's dream blood. It'll stop soon."
Bel smiled.
But that smile was fading, like a setting sun.
"...It's not over yet."
Bel murmured quietly.
Nightroar still didn't stop.
The counter floated into the air.
The movie posters on the walls turned black one after another and tore apart.
The chairs shattered into splinters.
"It's... it's no use..."
Yume was about to shut her heart away completely.
"Because of me, everyone... because of me, the shop... because of me, Bel-san..."
Yume buried her face in her knees.
"I should have just never existed."
That was when it happened.
"It's not your fault!!"
Jirou, still lying on the floor, shouted at the top of his lungs.
"It's not your fault! You didn't do anything wrong! You were just lonely! You just wanted someone to be by your side!"
Jirou dragged his battered body closer to Yume.
"That's not a bad thing! Everyone gets lonely! Me too, Aisha-chan too, Bel-san too! We're all lonely!"
Jirou took Yume's hand.
"So it's not your fault. You didn't break anyone's dreams. Even if your loneliness called Nightroar here, that's not your fault. Feeling lonely isn't a bad thing!"
Yume slowly lifted her face.
"...Onii-chan."
Tears spilled from Yume's eyes.
"But... but because of me, everyone got hurt. The shop got destroyed. If I had never come here..."
Jirou shook his head.
"No. Because you came here, I got to meet you. Aisha-chan and Bel-san were happy to meet you too."
Jirou squeezed Yume's hand tightly.
"So please. Don't blame yourself."
Yume squeezed Jirou's hand back.
"...Onii-chan."
That was when it happened.
Nightroar's tentacle slammed violently against the floor.
DOGOOO!
The floor split, and Jirou's body was sent flying.
"Jirou!"
Jirou crashed into the wall and stopped moving.
"Jirou! Jirou! Noooooo!"
Aisha rushed over to Jirou.
"Jirou! Wake up! Jirou!"
Aisha shook Jirou's body.
But Jirou didn't move a muscle.
"No... no... because of me... because I didn't follow the plan... Jirou...!"
Aisha clung to Jirou's body and broke down crying.
Nightroar continued to swell.
There was almost no light left in the shop.
Yume's happy memories of light, Aisha's laughing memories, Jirou's quiet memories.
All of it was being drained away by Nightroar.
"...Ah."
Bel placed a hand on the counter and stood up.
His body was covered in wounds.
But Bel stood with his whole body spread wide, as if to protect Yume, Aisha, and Jirou.
"It's not over yet."
Bel's voice was hoarse.
"I won't let it end. Absolutely not."
Bel's fingertips glowed faintly silver.
But that light was immediately swallowed by Nightroar's darkness.
The shop was enveloped in complete darkness.
"Bel-san...!"
Yume's voice, too, was sucked into the dark.
Nightroar's countless eyes gleamed in the darkness—swivel, swivel.
It was as if it was trying to swallow the entire shop, and everyone's hearts along with it.
"...Seconds, you say?"
In the darkness, Bel's voice echoed faintly.
"We're only just getting started."
That voice was trembling.
But it was there. Without a doubt, it was there.
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