Sneezing by Candelight

[a red nine]

First off, I'm totally hitting myself in the head right now for mispelling 'Candlelight' in the title. Ughh. One of my pet peeves is spelling errors, so to actually make on myself is like death. >__< Sorry about that.

Also, I would have mentioned the fandom in the description but not many have heard of Nightmare Inspector. I don't want someone to knock it before they try it, so...

Since most people haven’t heard of the manga Nightmare Inspector, I’ll give a brief synopsis: it is about a guy named Hiruko who is a baku. Since most people also don’t speak Japanese (myself included), a baku is a creature that eats dreams. The main character, Hiruko, is one of those, though instead of looking like a tapir like the picture of the baku on Wikipedia, he appears human, and always carries his briefcase and cane, his tools of trade. The cane’s main purpose is to allow Hiruko to enter nightmares and alter them for the better of the dreamer. Clients come to him, asking him to free them from their terrible nightmares. Hiruko’s only required payment is that he gets to eat the nightmare afterwards, which takes shape as a little sphere. He waits for his customers in a restaurant called the Silver Star Teahouse, owned by a kind girl named Mizuki, who appears to have no romantic attachment to him at all throughout the manga but she’s still his friend.

I’ve only read book one. Wikipedia can give you more spoilers than that and show you some characters that will not be in this story. Plus you can read about the terrible past that Hiruko is stuck with, because obviously it wouldn’t be a manga if the main male protagonist didn’t have some awful memories he was trying to be nonchalant about. Obviously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmare_Inspector

Hiruko http://www.kingscomics.com.au/catalog/imag...img/img7288.jpg

I couldn’t find a decent picture of Mizuki. This manga really is unpopular.

That said, I’m sure that bits and pieces of my story aren’t completely accurate to the plotline, but it’s for the sake of more sneezes so I know no one cares. Enough rambling; enjoy and review!

The author would like to mention this all takes place at the end of the Taisho Era in Japan.

__________________________________________________________________________

In the cover of darkness… the come to the Silver Star Teahouse… seeking solace…

Mizuki wiped down the tables of the Silver Star Teahouse with a damp cloth, smiling to herself at tonight’s small victory. Seven guests had shown up that day, which was practically a record high for the restaurant that was usually avoided because of a certain nightmare devourer. Still, some sought it out for that very purpose, and it wasn’t unlikely the Hiruko the baku would land himself another client tonight.

Mizuki looked up as she heard footsteps from the staircase. “Speak of the devil,” she mused as the wall clock chimed. “You’re always so punctual. Exactly 7:00 every night. And you’re self-employed.”

“What would I do if someone decided to come early?” One of the tea house’s boarders, Hiruko, sat in the table farthest from the entrance, as always, cane and suitcase settled on the bench by his side. “I don’t mind sitting here and waiting anyway. What’s a few hours when you’re immortal?”

Mizuki half-smiled, moving towards the kitchen as she heard the tea whistle. “Would you like anything while I’m back there? I could pour you a cup.”

Hiruko’s eyebrows slouched ever so slightly. “I’ve told you before, I despise human food.”

“Yes, I know, I know,” her voice called from the back, “but I’m a waitress, it’s in my nature to ask. And I’m sure customers wouldn’t be so evasive if you at least pretended to be a bit more normal. Not to mention it would be polite. The few that come here say I have a talent when it comes to tea-making.”

“If I drank your tea, my reaction would only disappoint you. I eat strictly nightmares.” Hiruko leaned his chin against his palm and stared outside pensively. Puddles from the cool autumn storm were illuminated in the golden ambience of the street lamps. It was weather that kept the townspeople inside their homes and drove stray travelers into the shops for something hot to drink before continuing on their way. Soft music sifted lazily out of the radio in the corner, fizzing with a weaker connection. Mizuki came out of the backroom, fingers laced tightly around her teacup to feel the warmth emanating through the glass. Neither of them talked for a while, as they both preferred tranquil silence over conversation. It hadn’t taken long for them to establish a friendship that delighted in this lack of talking.

Hiruko did interrupt it only minutes later, a look of puzzlement crossing his features. “The air smells… different. Are you wearing some new perfume? Or something?”

Mizuki shook her head as she took a sip. “No- what you’re smelling are these candles I bought just today. Aren’t they nice? I think they pretty the place up a little. I put them out on all the tables. They’re supposed to be scented like roses.”

The baku glanced at the cheerful magenta cylinder, wick alive with sprightly flame, a pool of shimmering wax settling in the divot at the top. “It doesn’t do much for me,” he admitted without reluctance, stiffening.

Mizuki shook her head again, this time put off. “Hmph. Well excuse me for trying. I find them lovely.”

Hiruko turned back to the window, appearing slightly perturbed, shoulders hunched a bit more than usual. Considering the brief discussion over, Mizuki tuned her ears back to the dull plunk of piano keys spilling out of the radio, closing her eyes in bliss. Tea flooded her throat and flushed her cheeks. It always felt nice to be inside with the glow of fire for company when just out the door everything was cold and dripping.

“Ch’ssh.”

She almost didn’t catch it, that tiny breath of a noise; in fact, it probably would have gone unnoticed if it hadn’t occurred right after the radio song ended. And it would have undoubtedly gone without knowing what it truly was if Hiruko hadn’t done it again just a second or so after, eyes clamping tightly like a newborn animal to the sunlight, head dipping forward a bit as he released another airy, “Ch’shh.”

Mizuki blinked and stared at him over the top of the teacup, a little disbelieving. “Uh, Hiruko?”

“Yes?”

“Was that you?”

Slightly hesitant. “Yes.”

Then a bit more straightforward, “Was that a sneeze?”

“What of it?” Hiruko sighed, sounding irritated in more ways than one.

Mizuki smirked knowingly. “Nothing. I just thought that a baku would be above something so human as sneezing.” She drained her tea and made a move to go get more. “You know, as you are with eating normal human food.”

Hiruko sniffed, his gaze drifting back to the storm outside. “If I can feel pain then why shouldn’t I feel other things?”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Mizuki agreed. She walked back into the main restaurant, stirring the leaves around in the hot water, and leaned against the counter, propping one ankle against the other. “I’ve just never heard you sneeze before. I was surprised is all. …Such ugly weather. I don’t suppose you’ll get a customer tonight. Which means I probably won’t either.”

“You never kn-know,” Hiruko shrugged, head beginning to tilt.

“Hmm… Yes, that’s true. Storms do have a way of bringing up fears in people.” Mizuki, who had been watching her tea as she stirred, looked up now at the baku sitting at the table. “Goodness. Again?”

The tickle was etched into his features, his nostrils rearing back, his mouth pulled down in impatience for release. Fortunately it didn’t tease him for long. “H’chssh.” Hiruko’s head bobbed with a bit more force, and he came up looking aggravated.

“Bless you,” Mizuki said, realizing the statement had gone unmentioned for the first two. “The rain hasn’t made you sick I hope?”

Hiruko tried to subtly rub his nose with his index finger. “I am incapable of becoming ill.” The attempt at masking the tickle did absolutely nothing. His blue eyes lost the firelight’s illumination as they began to shut again and his breath hesitated, lingering on the urge. “Ch’shh.”

Mizuki smacked her forehead as she realized the cause. “Oh no! It’s the candles bothering you, isn’t it?” Hiruko glared at her with liquid blue eyes, ripe with the remnants of the itch, as if it were obvious, and Mizuki slumped. “Oh, what a shame. …It can’t be helped, I suppose; it wouldn’t be fair keeping them out with you in here all the time. Well, maybe I can sell them back, they’ve hardly burned.”

At that moment, the door burst open, a gust of moist storm air rushing in around them. A young man stood there in rain-soaked clothes, blonde bangs sticking to his forehead and an unopened umbrella clutched in one hand, apparently unused. He was clearly hurried, and he stood there for a moment, trying to get his breathing back to normal speed.

“I’m here for Hiruko, please,” he panted, finally trudging in, leaving rainwater in his wake.

“You’re dripping wet! Why not use your umbrella?” Mizuki questioned, hands on her hips.

The man scratched the base of his neck sheepishly. “I was in such a hurry, I didn’t think to. I just grabbed it before running out the door.” He turned to Hiruko. “Are you the baku, by any chance? Please say you are!”

“I am,” Hiruko muttered casually, chin plastered to a propped hand again.

The man sat down, cutting quickly to the chase after his introduction. “My name is Masato, and my wedding is soon. I’ve been having a terrible dream for the past few days about it. You see, when I’m at the alter, I’ll watch my wife walk to me and everything will be normal up until that point. But as soon as she reaches me, she says, ‘You know this isn’t what we want.’ Then she disappears!” He slammed his fists into the table. “Please, you have to explain to me what this means! Is my fiancé going to walk out on me? I think she loves me, but what if I’m wrong? What are my nightmares trying to tell me?”

“You poor thing,” Mizuki clucked. “It’s quite common to get nerves before your wedding, though. Do you think you may be overreacting?”

“Perhaps. But I have to know for sure.” Masato clasped his hands together in front of him. “You have to analyze my dream, Hiruko. I won’t be at peace until I know for sure its meaning.”

“Very well.” Content with the amount of information he was given on the dream, Hiruko reached for his cane and pointed the rounded end at the customer’s forehead. “Let us discover this woman’s intentions. Sleep now… leave this world behind.”

As if under a spell, the man’s head plunked to the table as he drifted off. Hiruko stared ahead with focus, unblinking. The baku was experiencing the called-upon dream along with Masato, his mind in another world entirely while his unconscious body seemed to be at rest. Mizuki always felt that the interactions between Hiruko and his customers was, to her, like reading only the first and last chapter of a particularly interesting and bizarre novel. In the beginning, the problem would be presented. Whatever adventures went on in the dream world Mizuki knew nothing of, only the outcome of it all when Hiruko told it to her later.

Since she felt it a little awkward to stare at the two of them, conscious or no, Mizuki sat down facing the counter and listened to the orchestra piece that was trying not to sound fuzzy with radio buzz.

The pink candles had been forgotten, but the smoke from them continued to drift up Hiruko’s nose. The tease was enough to cause a reaction; at least, it would have been if Hiruko were awake. With his mind in another realm, his nose could do nothing but take the torture without any of the relief. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes worth of irritation entered his nasal passages with no means of escape. Hiruko couldn’t feel it, nor could his mind react to it, and his nose filled to the brim with smoke that sat stale as it waited. If Mizuki had been paying attention, she would have seen his nostrils pinkening with want for release that wouldn’t come.

At least until he woke up.

Thrown into the game with no fair warning, there wasn’t any time to gather his thoughts from Masato’s dream, just to give in. The need hit him like a slap in the face. It was so powerful, Hiruko could do nothing but reel for a second as his brain tried wrap itself around the desperate urge to sneeze. “Hedeeeh,” he gasped, too overwhelmed by the feeling at this point to think about where he was aiming. His eyes swung into his lids almost gratefully and his long-tortured nostrils widened in preparation. “Hh’chssheh!-chssh!-chsshh!” The first three bled together with no breath in between, fighting mercilessly for an escape. Hiruko blinked once blearily, but the tickle was far from abated. His sneezes took on a new texture as they all tried to slide out at once and his head leaned as he built for the second round. “Heh-chi-ish! Heh-chsh! Unsh! Chshh! Heh-heh-chsh!”

Mizuki had turned around at once of course, apology highlighting her features. “Oh, Hiruko! I’m so sorry, I forgot!” She jumped up at once from her seat and hurried about the restaurant blowing out the candles. The damage had already been done, of course. Hiruko was still blindly bobbing his head forward, trying to work out the tickle, but it was long and persistent. Too much of the scent had lingered around him not to have such an effect.

“Um,” Masato began in confusion, “does this happen every time he enters a dream?”

“Never you mind him,” Mizuki said quickly; Hiruko was in no state to answer questions. “Did he figure out your nightmare then?”

“Yes he did!” Masato beamed. “My fiancé doesn’t want to leave me, she wants to elope! We’re going to run away together! We don’t need this fancy wedding! All we want is each other!” Masato turned to the poor sneezing baku before him. “Thank you so much, baku Hiruko! Whatever do I owe you for your kindness?”

“He has your nightmare, so he needs nothing else.” Mizuki walked up to Hiruko’s table and blew out the final candle; Hiruko had become so dizzy with the fit that he’d laid his head on the counter and all she could see was his back tightening every time he released. “Thank you so much for coming, have a nice evening!”

“Ah, okay then… Thank you-” Masato was shooed out the door and once again the room emanated with only the peaceful noises from the radio. Well, that and Hiruko’s endless fit.

“Um, are you alright?” Mizuki decided to ask, clasping her hands behind her back. Hiruko shook his head and tried to glare again, but his eyes were half-closed and glossy with expectation, so it had hardly a demeaning look to it. His head snapped down as the barrage continued. “Neh-heh-cshhh-eh! Cssh! Chssheh! Hehn…” Hiruko squeezed his nose between his fingers and rubbed mercilessly, desperate for any aid he could give his sinuses. It prickled angrily in response. “Hppt! Neh-hppt!”

“Don’t do that, you’ll hurt yourself,” Mizuki scolded. She blinked when Hiruko stood up, looking rather unstable. “Leaving? I’m sorry-”

“I haf… hafta get out of he-ere- hehn...” It was hard to hold off sneezing long enough to speak a full sentence, but Hiruko attempted it lamely. “J-Just tell anyone who c-comes… comes in looking for mehhh…” He held his breath for a moment before trying again. “That I’m retirih-ing for the ev… evenihh-” Hiruko was close but there was no way to shake this one. “Hh-hh! Cheh-ehshh!”

“Um, yes, of course,” Mizuki mumbled, feeling a bit guilty about it all. She watched Hiruko move back towards the staircase he hadn’t come down so long ago, his upper body thrusting forward every time the urge became overly fierce. She could hear him clunking up the stairs, uttering a frantic, “Ch-shh!” every other beat. Almost at he top, she heard him halt momentarily. The farther Hiruko got from the source, the longer the sneeze seemed to want to stay trapped and the more hitching it seemed to require to be coaxed free. “Cheh-ehh… Heh…” There were a few counts of stillness and then, “Heh-heh-chehhshh!”. Mizuki cringed as she heard eight solid thunks as his cane came to rest at the bottom of the stairwell.

Mizuki walked over timidly and picked it up. “Er… Bless you…”

Hiruko snatched it from her quickly, face flushed with embarrassment or perhaps another sneeze on its way. Whatever it was, he charged up the stairs to his bedroom more quickly than she’d seen him run before and remained inside for the rest of the night.

__________________________________________________________________________

Under cover of the Internet… you came to my fanfic… seeking sneezes…

And you got them! So, if you enjoyed it, why not drop a message? Andr if you have suggestions, please share, I’m always looking for ways in which I can improve.

Happy Christmahannakwanza Solstice, everyone!

Edited December 19, 2009 by Dead End

[everest]

This was pretty cool. I love his sneezes, though I know nothing of the fandom.

[Zane]

haha totally awsome! I've heard of the manga and read like the first few pages but thats it, but maybe next time I go to Barnes and Noble or Borders I might read it...... hmmmmm... well anyway.... yum! so many sneezes. lol. thanks so much for the story!

[cupkake]

Ooh cute! His sneezes are yummy... write more soon!

[Spoo]

A thing I love about you is that you provide wonderful information, so that the reader can somewhat acquaint themselves with the characters and series prior to actually taking on the story. That's always a plus in my opinion!

The fic itself was really, really good. Your writing style is excellent, and you paint some very nice images with your words. I felt as if I were truly there in that restaurant on such a dreary day. I'm not familiar with the characters, but I have a feeling you did them fantastic justice! Hiruko's sneezes were so cute!

I honestly enjoyed reading this. Hope you write another story soon!

Spoo~

[Lady Blessington]

*fans self*

[onlyhim]

"This manga really is unpopular."

LOL! I don't know why, but that struck me as very funny!

Anyway, I don't know why this would be unpopular. I'm not a fan of manga at all, but this sounds like an interesting concept. And your story was adorable!

[a red nine]

Thank you, everyone, for the kind reviews! I'm glad you liked it and thought it was 'yummy'. I'll try to stick to more popular fandoms from now on though. I just will. I think people will enjoy it more. I have some ideas anyway..

As for you, Spoo, can't thank you enough for all your support! And for the ficlets; so absolutely cute! Keep your eyes peeled, there may be something on the stories forum for you yet. I don't care what you say!

And again, happiest of holidays!

[Bisc]

Wow this is so cute!!

I may read this manga :3

[bangbang]

I have never heard of this before and I really appreciated your explanation beforehand! Love the idea of an immortal, mythical being getting something as mundane as the sneezes - and the idea of him not being able to sneeze in the nightmare and having that huge fit afterwards is really nice!

I don't think you should feel obliged to stick to more popular fandoms - I for one would happily read stuff from fandoms I don't know if it's as well-written as this!