The chandelier flickers intermittently, filling the room with a faint, fishy odor.
Fushimi Roku turns his head, a chill running down his spine. Standing in the entryway of the old Japanese house is a long-limbed woman, none other than Kujo Yua. In the past, he would have admired Kujo Yua’s outstanding figure, her nine-head proportion akin to that of a model, but now she seems more like a lanky ghostly figure, unlike a living person.
Now he understands what "danger lurks in dreams" means.
Minamoto Tamako immediately retracts her head, obediently sits back at the desk, and pretends to be reviewing her homework. Fushimi Rokushin senses trouble, immediately shouting, "Tamako! Miss Kujo is asking you! Have you finished your homework?!"
The words work wonders; Kujo Yua, in her lanky ghostly form, turns her head, tiptoes, without making any steps, slowly floats past Fushimi Roku, the living room is quiet and oppressive.
Minamoto Tamako dares not make a sound. Of course, she hasn’t finished her homework; otherwise, she wouldn’t have eagerly sought out Teacher Fushimi.
Kujo Yua does not spare her, instead approaching like a snake, slowly from behind, wrapping around Minamoto Tamako’s back, her slender neck pressing against Tamako’s shoulder, Kujo Yua peers over, her lower eyeballs glancing sideways at Tamako, her voice raspy asking:
Minamoto Tamako sits at the desk, clutching a 2B pencil, her body shaking like a sieve. She dares not lie, softly saying, "No... I haven’t..."
Kujo Yua is evidently furious, her hands gripping Tamako’s shoulders, resembling an African python ready to devour a little rabbit.
Minamoto Tamako speaks honestly, "Be...because... Teacher Fushimi said...too much homework... is unreasonable... and told me to go out and play..."
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Fushimi Roku was planning to sneak away from the entryway when he heard this, instinctually turning back, only to find Kujo Yua’s face suddenly in front, sticking close, less than a centimeter apart, her ghastly pale face filled with malice, like a vengeful ghost demanding his life, occupying his entire view.
"Who allowed you not to let her do her homework?!?!"
Kujo Yua opens her gaping mouth, a magic sound in his ear, suddenly extending her hands, clasping Fushimi Roku’s throat. He attempts to resist, discovering he is powerless throughout his body.
In this dream, Kujo Yua seems like an unstoppable force.
Fushimi Roku first feels oxygen deprivation, then a sharp pain in his neck, Kujo Yua’s thumb piercing his throat, gripping both sides of his neck, ferociously tearing, like a war movie hand tearing a ghost apart, brutally stripping off his face.
Another screeching roar echoes.
Fushimi Roku’s vision fades, in the last moment of waning consciousness, many thoughts flash through his mind:
First, this dream is certainly not his; he would never perceive Kujo Yua this way. Miyazaki Shizuka’s hypnotism, no matter how refined, can’t fabricate from nothing—so, this possibly is Minamoto Tamako’s dream, the little Tamako in the room is her childhood self.
How did he end up in Minamoto Tamako’s dream?
Probably due to something similar to the hypnotic tape effect, they’ve experienced a shared dream phenomenon. If he’s right, Tamako might be in his dream... mutually influencing each other, entrapping the other with heart’s nightmares.
Lastly, Fushimi Roku vaguely feels the neck-tearing sensation is too real, perhaps in reality his neck has been shot through with a Crossbow Arrow, hence feeling this way.
...Is he going to die?
Fushimi Roku doesn’t have time to fear, nor time for sorrow, his consciousness swiftly sinks into darkness.
Unknown time passes, he hears a familiar call again, "Wake up... Please wake up..."
Fushimi Roku’s consciousness gradually converges, regaining clarity, before he lifts his head, he realizes he has once again returned to Minamoto Tamako’s room.
He searches the document room in the court of the mind and finds he’s missing yet another two months of memory—meaning, each time he dies, the lost memory doubles.
Accordingly, when Minamoto Tamako called him, he had already lost seven months’ memory, another one or two deaths and he might lose a few years’ memory!
"Teacher Fushimi... don’t sleep..." Tamako continues calling him, gently nudging his arm.
Fushimi Roku swiftly raises his head, realizing his predicament is extremely dire. Now, survival is the priority, since he can’t leave the room, he must avoid the "conditions leading to inevitable death"!
He turns, quickly inquiring about the current situation with Tamako, collecting as much information as possible. Minamoto Tamako, though confused, answers truthfully.
From her, Fushimi Roku learns that he is now a professional home tutor, employed by the Kujo Family, responsible for tutoring Tamako the young lady.
This situation is prevalent in Japan; ordinary high schools typically implement happy education, arranging professional technical courses aiming at future career paths for graduating students. After high school, they either work or attend short-term universities (vocational colleges).
Furthermore, the teaching standard of high school teachers is worrying. Students hoping to enter prestigious universities through school classes are wishful thinking.
Consequently, various tutoring classes, professional training classes, entrance examination preparation institutions flourish in operation. If students wish to attend university, parents must spend heavily on courses and hire tutors. Thus the scenario in Japanese dramas or anime where siblings work hard for the others’ university entrance is actually not artistic embellishment but a common occurrence.