She woke up with her scream ringing in her ears, sitting upright in bed. Clutching the futon, she hugged it to her chest, and tried to calm her panting breath. <em>Only a dream, only a dream,</em> she repeated to herself.

“Akiko? What on earth are you doing?â€ Naoyuki sounded half asleep and half annoyed. Akiko couldn’t answer for a moment, her body still shaking and her breath coming in gasps. “Akiko? I’ve got to work tomorrow. Give me the futon so I can sleep.â€ This time Naoyuki sounded mostly annoyed, and he pulled at the futon. Akiko found herself still gripping it tightly, and forced her fingers to unclench.

The futon slid away from her, and the air was cool against her skin. Her eyes had almost adjusted to the darkness, and she carefully slipped out of bed and quietly pulled her clothes on. Careful to make no noise, she went out of the bedroom and through to the sitting room, curling up on the sofa.

Staring into the darkness, she gradually calmed down, but the idea of sleeping still sent her heart racing in terror. The clock on the DVD unit told her it was almost half past three, and she resigned herself to staying awake until dawn.

She was shaken awake.

“Akiko, why are you sleeping on the sofa? What about breakfast?â€ She opened her eyes and looked up at Naoyuki, standing over her in his bathrobe. “I’m going to have a shower, anyway.â€ Akiko looked at the clock. After six. She sat up and glanced down at her clothes. They were very creased, which wasn’t really surprising, but that meant that she would have to go home and change. She looked at the clock again, and sprang up in a panic, dashing into the kitchen to get breakfast ready.

Most of it was on the table when Naoyuki came out of the shower.

“Looks nice, thanks.â€ He sat down and started eating. “So what was that about last night, then? You woke me up.â€ Akiko felt herself blushing.

“Oh, just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about.â€

“Well, try to have bad dreams more quietly in future. I can’t afford to be half-asleep at work, you know.â€

“No, sorry. I’ll do my best.â€ Akiko sat down, eating quickly with one eye on the clock.

“Oh, by the way, the company’s sending me to Niigata for a couple of days from tonight.â€

“Is it an important trip?â€

“Oh, fairly important.They’d normally send someone more senior, but Igarashi said he was sure I could cope.â€ Naoyuki looked at her and smiled as he said that, and Akiko smiled back.

“It’s good to see that they recognise your ability.â€

“Well…â€ Naoyuki looked back down at his plate, and then stood up. “I’d better go. Clear up before you leave, will you?â€ He came round the table, and slipped a hand inside Akiko’s blouse to fondle her breast as he kissed her. Then he was gone.

Akiko looked at the breakfast things, and the clock, and realised that she was very likely to be late for work.