Chapter Text
Could a dream feel as if it were real? Or
Are dreams merely windows into other versions of ourselves in other universes? Or are dreams simply warnings of what might come to pass?
It seemed that Yuka Okkotsu was about to find out.
That dream felt more like an alternate version of herself, but in another universe.
A timeline where extraterrestrials had already arrived on Earth and were seeking to coexist with humanity. She even remembered that she and her brother Tsurugi had befriended two very peculiar space twins, named Maru and Kurosu.
But by twists of fate, the peace that had been promised to aid coexistence had been disrupted. Now, she found herself facing the strongest extraterrestrial among those who had arrived a threat on the level of Ryomen Sukuna. That was how they had classified him.
She remembered that her eyesight had already deteriorated, her headaches had worsened, and she could barely walk anymore.
That dream felt so real so real that she knew she could no longer walk and had to rely on a wheelchair. She even remembered boarding a Japanese military-style aircraft.
“If I were to be born again…”
She recalled thinking those words to herself, and then someone stood before her, someone she could not recognize, as her damaged vision prevented her from seeing his face. Perhaps the tumor in her brain had affected her so much that she could no longer recognize people.
But in her mind, she remembered her brother. She wished that in another life they could meet again. She also wished to meet, in another life and under different circumstances, the other two boys or rather, those two extraterrestrials whom she already considered friends.
Though one of them she held especially dear, because his way of being had completely moved her heart.
“It’s time”
Yuka heard herself say as the alarms over the aircraft’s hatch blared while the heavy door began to open. Her moment had arrived. She had to play her final card and give everything she had to save humanity, even though she already seemed resigned to her cruel fate.
Would she make it out alive? She didn’t know for certain.
She only knew that her moment in that life had come.
She felt the wind rush in violently, crashing against her back and tossing her hair wildly as her wheelchair slowly rolled backward toward the void.
“In the end, I think that if I were born again, I’d like to be your little sister once more…” she thought before throwing herself into the abyss.
“If I were born again, or if I could simply live in another universe, I wish the four of us could be together again…
she thought as tears streamed down her face while she fell from the sky.
“I wish everything were different…”
She felt her wheelchair shatter in midair as she plummeted at incredible speed. She had to do it. She had to play her trump card, the one her grandparents had advised her never to use unless it was an absolute last resort.
She was close to the ground. She could feel it.
She positioned herself. Her cursed energy surged as she heard the howls of wolves and other beasts emerging from her shadow.
“I’m sorry, Dabura-san…” she said, feeling pity for the situation.
And she made her final hand sign, invoking her ace up her sleeve.
“With this treasure, I summon… the Divine General of the Eight-Handled Sword… Mahoraga…”she said before closing her eyes and falling into the deep shadow.
And then, pure darkness enveloped her as she felt that everything had ended… or so she believed.
From within that darkness, she sensed a male voice calling out to her.
“Yuka… Yuka…”
The voice repeated her name over and over. It sounded familiar, but she knew it wasn’t her brother’s. She even thought it might be her grandfather’s, but it didn’t sound like him at all.
Instead, that voice belonged to someone else, someone she had grown fond of from the depths of her heart.
It was as if that person were searching for her.
Suddenly, she felt the warmth of a sunset wash over her. She had lived this scene before, long ago, alongside that special someone by that river, where at the end of those stones you could cross to the other side.
At the end of the stone path, she saw a boy standing with his back to her. He was tall, with light-colored hair and strange clothing. But one thing she knew for certain, she wanted to reach him. Her heart told her she had to go to him.
“Let’s make this cycle end with us…”Those words echoed in her mind. She had said them herself, yet she couldn’t remember the face of the person her heart longed to see one last time.
“Wait!” she called out, raising her hand and trying to reach him as she began crossing the stones toward him.
She truly wanted to see his face. She knew that boy was not from Earth,
he had come from space.
She wanted to say his name, but she couldn’t. The words wouldn’t leave her mouth.
“Ku… ro…” she whispered with difficulty. Her need to reach him was so intense that her feet moved as fast as they could, while darkness consumed everything behind her like a black hole, absorbing everything in its path.
And then, just as she leapt onto the final stone and was about to grasp his hand.
That was when she woke up.
It took Yuka a moment to process where she was. Upon waking, all she could see was the ceiling of her bedroom.
“That was just a dream… right?” she asked herself as she brought her hands to her rapidly beating chest. She was drenched in cold sweat, and tears had soaked her pillow.
Suddenly, she felt her favorite plush beside her a stuffed panda, which she pressed against her face.
“That was just a dream, right?” she asked the plush toy.
Then, she heard someone knocking on her door.
“Yuka, are you awake?” she heard her brother’s voice.
It took her a moment to speak, so she simply watched as the door opened slightly and her brother poked his head inside.
“Hey, Yuka, get up already! Grandma wants us downstairs for breakfast”
he said, watching her from the doorway.
Yuka carefully sat up in bed and looked around. She observed her room, which had pink curtains, a closet full of clothes, and a desk cluttered with books, cosmetics, and other ítems, it also doubled as her vanity.
Her room was unmistakably that of a sixteen-year-old girl.
She looked at her brother while clutching the panda plush her grandfather had given her when she was little.
“Where are they?” she asked, her eyelids heavy.
Tsurugi raised an eyebrow. “Where are who?”
“The extraterrestrials…” Yuka dragged out the words. “You and I were fighting them…”
Tsurugi sighed. “That movie marathon really messed with your head, didn’t it, dummy?”
“Don’t call me dummy!” Yuka shouted, throwing the panda plush at him, which he easily caught.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, they’re waiting for us to eat” he said, tossing the plush back to her before closing the door behind him.
Yuka caught the plush and stared at it.
“Even in my dream, you talked… But I’m sure the extraterrestrials have already arrived. I know it. I saw them in my dreams, and I know they’re here”
she muttered, setting the panda aside as she got out of bed, stretched, brushed her unruly hair, and headed downstairs in her pajamas for breakfast.
Yuka stepped out of her room and admired her grandparents’ small yet modern and cozy house.
As she descended the wooden stairs, she observed the photographs lining the walls, most of them were pictures of her grandparents, along with many photos of her and her brother throughout the years.
Upon reaching the first floor, she couldn’t stop thinking about the house she had seen in her dreams, which was completely different from the one where she had lived almost her entire life.
That dream house one she didn’t miss for some reason was enormous and very old, perhaps as ancient as the Heian era. It might have belonged to a clan or a feudal lord. She remembered there were many servants, and sometimes it smelled old, filled with dust and aged wood.
Yuka could proudly say that the place she was in now was her true home. Though small and modern, with two floors, three bedrooms, a living room, dining area, and a lovely inner courtyard, it was cozy and never overwhelming like the one she sometimes saw in her dreams.
The smell of breakfast had already spread into the living room, and following the scent of her favorite meal, she entered the kitchen, where her brother and grandparents were waiting for her at the small four-seat table.
Yuka smiled with relief, especially upon seeing her grandparents there, standing before her, fully alive.
“Good morning, Yuka-chan” said her grandfather Yuta with a warm smile as he helped his wife finish preparing breakfast.
“Good morning, Grandpa” the girl said, hugging him. She truly needed that embrace. Then she turned to her grandmother, who was serving the plates.
“Good morning, Grandma”
“Good morning, Yuka-chan. Looks like the sheets held you hostage today, huh?”
Grandma Maki commented.
“Yeah, something like that, hehe”
“Come on, sit down and eat” her grandmother said as she placed the dishes on the table.
“Yeah, let’s just say it was really hard for me to wake up” Yuka said as she sat beside her brother, who was sipping his coffee.
“Did you sleep well, my girl?” her grandfather asked, gently stroking her hair once she sat down.
“Sort of… I’d say I had a pretty strange dream…”
“Strange how?” Yuta asked, his brow furrowing.
“Don’t tell me you dreamed again that no boy paid attention to you” her brother teased as he took his first bite of breakfast.
“Of course not!”Yuka snapped.”Besides, I’m so beautiful that I always have admirers to spare” She said proudly, then continued calmly while looking at her food and picking up her chopsticks. “I mean strange things”
“What kind of strange things?” her grandfather asked while eating.
Yuka began to explain. “Well, in my dream, we were some kind of sorcerer family. We lived in a big house, and what surprised me the most was that aliens arrived and we became friends with two space twins. But because of things beyond our control, I ended up fighting their strongest warrior…”
Her brother raised an eyebrow. “Sorcerers? Aliens? Are you sure you’re sane?”
“I’m telling you, it felt so real!”
“Sounds like you might’ve been influenced, my girl” Yuta said with concern.
“But I swear it felt so real! I clearly remember that the two aliens were our friends, and that they and their people came to Earth seeking asylum because they were fleeing their planet. They were also searching for a solution to a curse placed on the sister of their strongest warrior, the same one I had to fight” Yuka explained.
Her brother and grandparents stared at her in disbelief.
“You should get your head checked…” Tsurugi muttered sarcastically, breaking the tension.
“I’m telling the truth! Ever since I woke up, I’ve had this feeling that the extraterrestrials are already among us”Yuka said, slumping her shoulders.
“Alright. I believe you” Tsurugi said before taking another bite.
“Really?” his sister asked, surprised.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t doubt they’re already here he said after swallowing.
“Last night I saw strange lights outside our house, especially around the place across the street. I’ve also heard weird noises, like spaceships. So yeah, I don’t doubt the aliens have arrived and they showed up dancing cha-cha-cha” he added mockingly.
She elbowed him.
“I’m being serious, idiot! What if my dream was a warning that they’re already among us?” Yuka snapped before stuffing her mouth with food.
“If that were true, don’t you think we’d have seen one by now?”
her older brother replied.
She rolled her eyes.
“How would you see them if they can camouflage themselves among us, idiot? Besides, I doubt you could tell an alien from a human”
“Of course I could!” Tsurugi shot back.
“And who says you’re not one, huh? Or maybe the aliens already ate your brain?” Yuka retorted angrily.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Grandma Maki scolded them.
“Alright, kids, please stop fighting” Yuta said with a sigh.
“I suppose that alien movie marathon did you harm, Yuka along with eating so late” Grandma Maki said sternly, addressing all three of them. “I’ve told you not to watch those old alien movies and shows”
“But you know those movies were famous, my love. Some even became cult classics” Yuta replied, looking at his wife.
“I don’t care. I never liked them, and this is why. Now the kids are all worked up and thinking nonsense” Maki said irritably. “So alien movies are forbidden for a while”
“But Grandma!” both siblings protested at the same time.
“No arguments. Finish your breakfast, afterward, the three of you need to go buy some things for the house. You agreed to accompany your grandfather” Maki said while eating.
Both siblings sighed.
But it seemed that summer would bring them an unexpected surprise
when a “spaceship” parked right outside their grandparents’ house.