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Shonen
A Yuyu Hakusho fic
By Chester Casta�eda
gab_ab@edsamail.com.ph
http://www.geocities.com/gabriel_abdiel/fanfiction.htm

Chapter 7... lucky, lucky seven....

A few more notes before proceeding:

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech


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Chapter 7: Sakura
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     The next time Kurama opened his eyes, colored spectacles greeted
them as he felt his body walk around a moist, dank tropical forest...
apparently on its own volition... while making involuntary clucking 
sounds with his mouth as if he was exasperated or something.

     <I see... I have returned in the dream, continuing where I left 
off in this strange island of sorts,> he though in chagrin.

     "What an irritating girl... running off like that," Kurama's 
fantasy-self said, annoyed as he adjusted his polarized eyeglasses. 
"There was no need for her to do that... she's just being overbearing 
and sensitive. I can't believe I'll be stuck with her in this deserted 
island indefinitely."

     <It seems that I'm really angry in this dream,> Kurama thought 
coolly as he noted that his dream self acted horribly out-of-character 
from his own true self. <As if this was a different story, a different 
time... with totally different characters, even though we share the same 
bodies and names.> 

     "Keiko! Oi, you silly girl! Get back here!" Kurama demanded as
he searched through the twisting and twirling paths of the jungle.  
"Listen to reason! We're going to get stuck here in this island for
a while, so there's no reason to fight."

     <On the other hand, this Kurama seems more like my cool and 
aloof self whenever I fight seriously... he's more of the no-nonsense, 
stoic-type then... a little like my youko self,> Kurama reckoned as he 
felt impatience build upon himself... or at least in his dream self. 
<But still... this Kurama has not yet apologized to Keiko-san, which is
just not right.>

     "Feh. Fine... if that's the way you want it, then I have nothing
more to do with you!" the dream Kurama said as he hastily left in a
huff, walking briskly back to the shore and to the palm tree he was 
quietly perched upon before he was bothered by that niggling little girl.

     <I'd hate to say it... but this dream is getting nowhere fast,>
Kurama thought forlornly. <Other than the obvious fact that it hasn't 
revealed to me any insights concerning my mind and the... recent events 
that... unfolded. It's just recurring, but mostly meaningless... makes 
one wonder if dreams really are the windows into the soul.>

     He stopped his mental rant at mid-thought as his surroundings
abruptly shifted, as with his current point of view.




***




     <This is... Keiko-san?> Kurama thought... had he said the words,
he would have sputtered.

     Memories of last night threatened to overwhelm his present 
envisage... memories of a tight embrace... of a forbidden warmth...
of an unsaid willingness to kiss....

     <Not now, not now! I can't handle all of that right now.> He
focused his semi-transient thoughts back at the young girl. <This is
important. This... dream is somehow affecting my thoughts and my...
feelings. I have to make it clear what was real and what was merely
induced by this peculiar fantasy.> The image of Keiko in his mind's
eye soon became clear and sharp.

     <It seems that I'm looking at Keiko through a third person point 
of view,> Kurama noted, observing the teenaged girl's melancholic
state.

     <I hate this place,> Keiko thought sullenly, startling the 
disembodied Kurama.

     <Utterly fascinating... I can even hear her think. Apparently this 
is the third person _omniscient_ point of view,> Kurama cheerfully 
thought to himself, enthralled. He then mentally sighed, thinking, 
<This isn't the time for this. Though... I kind of feel guilty, peeking
through Keiko-san's thoughts like this. Please forgive me, Keiko-san.>

     She then turned and faced Kurama general, albeit theoretical, 
direction. Angry eyes were glaring holes upon the supposedly 
invisible specter as the young woman then shouted, "KURAMA YOU 
ASSHOLE!!!"

     Kurama recoiled from imaginary shock, forgetting that he was
presently incorporeal. He then began to question his etherealness,
so to speak, as he stared back at those fiery, passionate and lovely
eyes. <Oh my... my mind's wandering again.> He would have sighed 
dejectedly, if he could. 

     <She's probably just cursing her luck and... me. My other self, to 
be exact,> Kurama thought as he breathed an imaginary sigh of relief. 
He continued to observe the scenario as it unfolded.  

     <Why does that Kurama have to be insensitive? That's the last thing 
I need after barely surviving a helicopter crash,> Keiko thought as she
wandered aimlessly in the rain forest, consciously wiping the mud off
of her left shoe on one of the exposed, tentacle-like roots protruding 
in the ground. <I was lucky to be alive! To think, after such a 
traumatizing experience, that idiot had the audacity to traumatize me 
even more? The nerve!>

     <Hm... so this dream isn't totally based on my reality... reality
as I know it,> Kurama figured, remembering the little fact that neither
the Urameshi nor the Yukimura families could ever afford owning a 
helicopter. 

     Kurama's psyche tensed, listening and carefully examining every
unsaid thought of Keiko. <But I have no such memories of such a 
story... not from any of the books I've read, not from any of the
television shows I've watched, nor from the movies I've seen. It's
either this is a subconscious sort of dream, or odds and ends of my
past dreams put together. Either way, I'm definitely not on familiar
ground.> 

     Keiko looked contemplative as she thought, <To think, Yusuke and
I are already engaged.>

     Kurama thought he went to shock, but then thought the better of it 
as he remembered that he didn't really 'exist' in this dream world... 
not in the traditional sense, anyway. It was all in his mind. Regaining
his bearings, Kurama double-took at the image that flashed before him. 

     It was a memory... not his own... of a fancy dinner of some sort.
There, seated in front of him was an casually-dressed Yusuke, smiling. 
The young adult proposed a toast to good health, holding up his glass 
of wine. From Kurama's point of view, he could see a hand... not his 
own... raise up a wine-filled glass in kind, tipping it as the two 
wineglasses made an audible clinking sound. The smooth, flawless hand 
had a beautiful diamond ring on it. Kurama mentally blinked as the 
brief scene suddenly dissipated into Keiko's mind.

     <Ah... a memory of Keiko's,> Kurama stated in his head. <So in my
dream, Keiko and Yusuke are happily engaged. Only in dreams...> he 
added amusedly.  

     Keiko sighed as she began speaking to herself, unwilling to admit
any 'company' since what was there was 'unwelcome company.' "Boy, I'm 
getting hungry." She brightened as she spied a succulent-looking fruit
hanging from a nearby tree branch. Kurama, for a change, watched in 
rapt attention and silence, not one stray thought nor meandering in his 
mind.

     A loud splat was heard as Keiko suddenly got a face-full of 
overripe fruit.

     Kurama sweatdropped. He didn't particularly care how... he just 
did.

     Adding insult to injury, a pair of birds of paradise suddenly
noticed the splat of food on Keiko's face. Thusly, they began chasing
her, along with their flock of friends.

     "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Keiko shrieked, panicking as she ran away from
the hideous birds. <Birds of paradise? More like birds from hell!> She
flayed her arms wildly, screaming, "Help me! Somebody! Anybody! HELP!" 

     That was when Kurama's consciousness merged with his dream self with
only one thought in mind.

     <Keiko-san is in trouble,> the dream Kurama thought, not realizing
his unknown alter ego echoed the very same sentiments.




***




     "Th-thank you," Keiko grudgingly thought as she wiped off the fruit 
cocktail on her face with a spare kerchief. "I didn't realize that you...
could actually _not_ be an asshole, Kurama."

     Kurama whooped for joy, startling Keiko. "I should be thanking you!
Hoo-boy... look at these babies!" he said, grinning as he hefted the 
large birds he caught. "By acting as bird-bait, you got us a veritable
feast tonight! Thanks a lot!"

     Keiko raised an eyebrow in irritation, her left eye twitching. 
<So much for Mr. Sensitivity,> she reckoned. "You actually want me to 
eat those birds of paradise...."

     "Eh?" Kurama said, a startled look on his face. He then laughed
heartily. "AHAHAHAHA!!! You thought that these large, overstuffed birds
were birds of paradise? Sure they are... if they were radiation mutants 
of some sort. AHAHAHA--" Kurama suddenly got a face-full of 'radiation 
mutant bird of paradise.'

     "There are times when you just have to shut up, Kurama-san. This
is one of those times," Keiko said resolutely, nodding to herself. 
"Enjoy your poultry for all I care!"

     "Poultry is a term used for eggs, not for birds-- HEY! OW!" 
Kurama hopped on one foot as Keiko stomped away, fuming. "Oi... you're
not going into that jungle again in a huff, are you?"
 
     "I spotted a waterfall somewhere in there... I'm going to take
a bath." She glared threateningly at Kurama. "No funny business, or
I'll make you wish you drowned at sea."

     Kurama gave her a look of skepticism. "Suuuure I will," he 
deadpanned.

     She quickly turned around, letting out a frustrated grunt as she
stalked away from Kurama the Asshole. "It's settled... you _are_ worse
than Yusuke!" her voiced echoed deep in the rain forest.

     Kurama sighed, shaking his head. "To be stuck with that screaming
banshee is hell in and of itself. Heaven help us all."

     <Well... at least they're talking,> the 'real' Kurama thought as
he observed from the dream Kurama's vantage point. He then suddenly 
felt his consciousness slip into another scene... another 
situation... another circumstance from a different time.




***

   

 
     "It's getting late... it's nearly twilight," Kurama said to no
one in particular as he took a large bite into the drumstick of his 
just-recently roasted bird. 

     <I see... so my consciousness shifted the scene a few hours later,>
Kurama observed, captivated. <It's like I'm watching an Art film, with
experimental POV shifts and the use of the 'stream of consciousness' 
method in its storytelling. Fascinating.> 

     The spectacled Kurama gnawed at the bone fervently as he tried to
ignore the feeling of worry building up in his gut. "Three hours is an
awfully long time to take a bath. It's getting awfully dark too." 

     He raised his voice again for Keiko's sake. "Hey, I don't know
much about these tropical islands, but I've heard that there
have rabid vampire bats that come out at night. You can't exactly get
rabies shots in the middle of nowhere, y'know."

     Kurama mentally smirked. <Well now... who would have thought that 
I could be this nice and sweet? Worrying about... Keiko.> Kurama's 
consciousness became more subdued. <I guess I could say as much 
without much discomfort... since I don't consider the Keiko of this 
dream as the Keiko I know, with what I've seen so far.>

     Kurama suddenly remembered Keiko's cry from earlier, compelling him
to action. "Stupid woman...."

     <But this Kurama... for good or for ill... is a nice guy after 
all,> Kurama thought, amused with 'himself.'
 



***




     Kurama slowly made his way in of the now familiar jungle. He 
faintly remembered where the waterfall was. He had been awake and 
island-exploring hours before Keiko even woke up to discover they were 
stranded. All he had to do now was to find the waterfall... the 
waterfall where.... Keiko was currently bathing in right now.  

     Boy, did Kurama feel sheepish now... the both of them.

     Kurama gulped, his thoughts coinciding with the thoughts of his
otherworldly alter-ego. <This is silly. Three hours bathing? That's not 
possible. It's silly and it's vain.> The spectacled boy furrowed his
brows in concern. <Sounds a lot like Keiko, though.> Something nagged
the island-lost young man, and his half-youko personality did not fail
to notice this.

     <Not to sound too analytical and altogether anal, but,> the former
Demon World thief thought as he observed his fantasy self. <All this 
is obviously some sort of depraved setup to romantically link this 
Kurama and that Keiko together,> the genuine Demon World Kurama 
concluded. <Why, I predict that, at this very instant, this Kurama
will whirl his head to see a completely naked Keiko, thus adding to 
the conflict!>

     As if on cue, a scream suddenly echoed from behind the rushing
stream of descending water, a flesh-colored silhouette seen from its
transparent veil.

     Reflexively, Kurama whirled his head toward the said silhouette.

     <Predictable,> the true Kurama dolefully noted. 

     Embarrassed, Kurama looked away, muttering a haphazard apology. 
Unfortunately, the direction he whirled his head showed him a full,
brazen and shameless look at a completely naked Keiko... 
smooth-skinned, slender-built, bare-bottomed Keiko.

     <....> the true Kurama listlessly thought.

     The fantasy Kurama looked back and forth at Keiko's reflection
on the water and Keiko herself in her... full glory in total, complete,
surprise. The sleeping Kurama's consciousness, on the other hand, was 
glad that he was just that... a consciousness. Said consciousness idly 
wondered what it would be like to be unconscious in a dream... to be 
unconscious while unconscious... as he deftly tried to ignore the 
oncoming promise of pain in Keiko's eyes.

     Kurama's eyebrows shot up in surprise as his hands began to 
windmill in a futile effort to regain his balance. The slippery rock 
stubbornly held its ground as he unwittingly tripped on it, painfully 
chipping away part of the toenail of his bare left foot. That was when
he noticed that he was on a shallow cliff on the uppermost part of
the waterfall.

     So Kurama unceremoniously fell, his alter ego's consciousness 
finally having a chance to discover what was it like to be unconscious 
while... unconscious. 




***




     "I owe you a slap," was what greeted Kurama out of his stupor. Or
rather that was what greeted Kurama's dream self out of his stupor. <Oh 
great... I just woke up _in_ my dream, not from my dream.> 

     "I apologized, didn't I?" the imaginary Kurama said as he began to 
take note of his surroundings. Apparently he was lying in some sort of 
makeshift bed made out of palm leaves. They kind of itched, but there
were more important things that had to be cleared. "It's not as if I 
intended to sneak a peek from you. I won't ever do that to you." 

     Keiko gave him a surprised look, a light blush on her cheeks. It
made Kurama feel a bit uncomfortable, for some inexplicable reason. In
order to diffuse the situation then smirked a little as he cruelly said, 
"Flat chest."

     Keiko simply fumed. "Everything is just a big joke for you... isn't 
it, Kurama?" she queried none-too-gently. "I wish you had drowned at
sea. Or got decapitated by the rotors of the helicopter. Anything...
just as long as you're dead."

     Kurama wanted to retort, but the words died in his lips as he 
turned to gaze at the irate Keiko. It wasn't tears... it wasn't a look 
of irritation... it was just a listless, numb stare. It was as if...
as if....

     The Kurama visualizing this dream figuratively shot his eyebrows up
as he heard his dream self's thoughts.  

     <It's as if I'm dead to her,> the fantasy Kurama thought sullenly.
<It's as if she's dead to the world.>

     <You crossed the line,> the real Kurama agreed, startling the 
abstract Kurama. <I don't need the voice in my head to lecture me, so
shut up!>

     The true Kurama allegorically blinked. <So he heard me that time?> 

     Kurama suddenly shifted from his side, fully facing the prone
Keiko. His eyes were clear and cloudless as he addressed the 
auburn-haired girl.  

     "I'm sorry." It seemed like a genuine, heartfelt apology this 
time.

     "You say it as if you mean it, but what's to stop you from doing 
another one-eighty? All you ever do is insult everything I do...
make fun of everything I say... do you hate me that much? You were much
nicer from before... quiet and definitely not this... this... anal!"
Keiko ranted as she gave Kurama a straightforward stare. "You're
sorry? No... I'm sorry... I'm sorry to have ever met you!"

     Kurama felt it... a twinge of pain in the dream Kurama's heart.
He felt sorry for him... other than the reaction he gave from the
hurtful words, there was also the unmistakable inner turmoil boiling
inside the fantasy boy. Was it a struggle with the truth? The real
Kurama could not tell. 

     <He was... much nicer than before? What happened?> the genuine
Kurama deliberated.

     The island-lost Kurama suddenly pointed at his cheek. "Fine then.
Slap me."
 
     Keiko happily obliged.

     Kurama rubbed his cheek, a perfect red handprint occupying half of
his face. "Slap me again."

     Keiko wasn't really sadistic per se, but the red-haired boy did
ask for it... besides, she was already too pissed-off to be appeased by 
a couple of overlapping handprints. "I sort of forgive you now. But what 
was with the second slap?"

     "It was a slap in advance for this," Kurama said as he suddenly 
kissed her.

     And then the whole world suddenly blurred into nonexistence.
      



***




     Kurama... the real, unconscious one... went silent for the first
time ever since the entire 'dream sequence' began... raptly watching
what happened before him, morbidly fascinated.

     Perhaps 'fascinated' wasn't the right word.

     Breathless sighs were murmured as bodies writhed under a starless
night. Thoughts were disregarded as things were simplified in a burst
of passion. What one wanted was to make the other feel the same amount
of wondrous delight... that was the important thing.

     They kissed in unrestrained ardor. Keiko curved her hand around
Kurama's nape, kissing him with unrestrained fervor. She kissed him
the same way he had kissed her, an urgent fire in her mouth as she
insistently parted the crease between his lips, urging them apart and
then driving inside a kiss that made him gasp inside his mouth.
     
     The surge of tenderness Kurama felt for the innocent temptress
with the melting eyes at that moment was let loose by a forlorn 
sigh... a sigh signifying a sinful passion realized. He stared down at 
her, feeling humbled by her sweet, selfless giving, and she closed her
eyes, burying her heated face against his chest while his fingers
gently stroked the soft, silky strands of her chestnut hair.

     Keiko was the first to speak, her voice a bit muffled with her
awkward position as she cuddled closer to Kurama. "Why did you change
so much, Kurama?" she asked in soft, whispered tones as she felt a
brief change of pattern in the rise and fall of Kurama's chest.

     It took a while before Kurama finally spoke. "Maybe because I was
trying too hard to become like Yusuke."

     The real Kurama quirked an eyebrow at this. He wanted to note 
that this was definitely a plot twist in this strange story, but he
digressed as he kept his mind silent for a little while longer. The
disturbed feeling he felt just a while ago... it still had not left.

     "Are you still sorry you've met me?" the castaway Kurama 
asked in a deadpanned tone. A minute of silence met his query.

     "Never," Keiko admitted. "Those were just words I said, 'I'm sorry 
to have ever met you.' But I don't know... if they should still remain 
as just words... after what happened right now." Keiko gripped Kurama's 
back tightly. "I don't know... if I could really hate you 
now. I should, but I don't know if I could."

     Before the damnable drape of reticence covered then in further 
uncertainty, the imaginary Kurama furthered his admissions, stating,
"My life changed when you got engaged to Yusuke, Keiko-san. I was...
uncomfortable. I put up various emotional walls... but I couldn't handle 
them in the end."

     The disturbed feeling in the real Kurama's gut... he was feeling 
it again right now. Something was a little off... as if things were
being forcibly controlled in some sort of involuntary pattern that
had to be executed in an exacting and straightforward manner.
 
     Keiko stirred, as if it would have been better for her if he had 
said that this night... tonight... was a one night thing. If he had
said that he only used her body for his base desires. She didn't want
to hear any of this... this was too complicated... too confusing. Was
it too much to ask for them to get back to the way they were?

     "I lost the ring when we dived into the sea just as the helicopter
crashed... apparently my sanity went along with it as well, seeing the
position we're in now," she chuckled humorlessly, too tired to cry.
Actually, she felt too treacherous to cry... guilt weighing heavily
upon her shoulders. 

     Kurama squeezed hand encouragingly, kissing it. "Nothing else 
matters but this moment in time. Whatever will be, will be."

     Keiko looked contemplative for a moment before she responded.
"What now, Kurama-san? What now?"

     "You may want to ask, 'Does hell await us? Does heaven await 
us?' The next second should let us know... but...." He gripped her 
hand tightly as he gave a sad smile.

     "I don't want that second to pass. Not now... not ever."
 
     Keiko smiled in kind, just as melancholic as Kurama's, maybe even
more so. 

     Only after the dream Kurama closed his eyes in resignation to his 
fate did the real Kurama's eyes flutter into consciousness.




***




     <I don't understand. I didn't understand a thing,> Kurama 
deliberated as he sat silently in his bed. <That weird dream hasn't 
answered any of my questions.>

     <Or perhaps it just showed you answers you didn't like.>

     Kurama wondered if it was his dream self that thought that... in 
the same accidental way the youko had while 'spying' his own dream. 
But, for good or for ill, it was a valid point nonetheless. 

     The dream did show answers he didn't like... answers that did 
not logically coincide with any of his previous meanderings, his
preceding queries... a response which he didn't want.

     Kurama remained perturbed upon seeing his dream up close.
Something about it just didn't seem right.

     He dared not acknowledge it, but since the dream stared right 
back at him, glaring him right in the eye... he just couldn't
afford to wince. 

     <So what my dream is saying is that I should try and get Keiko
to cheat on Yusuke with me? Is that it? A straightforward, literal 
meaning? Surrender to the urge within? Be like....> His thoughts
trailed-off again, as it had a tendency to do so.

     He still remembered the phrase which his dream self had said
as he continued his train of thought. <To be like Yusuke.>

     He anxiously frowned... as if he was in the middle of a 
life-or-death battle with his mother being the 'life-or-death' part of 
the competition as her very existence hung in the balance. Then,
from out of the blue, a very important and valid question popped in
Kurama's head.

     <So how does the story end? Did Kurama and Keiko get rescued? Did
Yusuke kill Kurama in a murderous frenzy? Did Keiko get hurt?>
There were a hundred possibilities, but not one did anything to 
appease the unsettling feeling Kurama had in the pits of his stomach.

     <Does the story end happily? Tragically? Typically?> Kurama 
narrowed his eyes. <Or did the story ever end? What was the true ending
of the story?> 




***




     "After making sweet, passionate love while being so angst-ridden 
about it, the two lovers were suddenly attacked by the people who
sabotaged their helicopter in the first place, intending to finish their
dreadful task. Shu-chan then kicked their collective asses, enabling the
couple to steal one of the terrorists' speed boats... but, alas, they
were caught up in a cross-fire and poor Shu-chan was hurt! The girl was
devastated, but, lo and behold... look who was there with the coast 
guard? Her fiance'!" Ayame blushed, her long sideburns swinging to and
fro from her excitement.   

     Chiho Sasae looked at her friend with half-lidded eyes and 
blatant skepticism as she let her painted nails dry. Chiho yawned 
unabashedly, irking Ayame to no end. "I didn't believe it was possible 
for you to bore me even more than usual, but again you proved me 
wrong again." 

     "Would you just listen? I'm relating some personal stuff here!"
Ayame hissed as Chiho quirked an eyebrow. The daydreaming girl glared 
hard, cutting off any further contentions as Chiho shrugged in hopeless
resignation. Ayame continued her story. 

     "Back at their house, the girl, after being rescued, has a 
heart-to-heart talk with her beloved. She couldn't bring herself to tell
him anything about her betrayal, but the jerk doesn't seem too worried 
anyway. That's when she discovers that her fiance' was in the arms of
another woman all this time!"

     "Well isn't that convenient for the little slut-whore."

     "Shut up, will you?!"

     "...."

     Ayame coughed once. "Anyway, the girl made her decision then and
there... she went to Shu-chan's lodgings near the docks... and...."
the girl trailed-off as she couldn't contain her excitement much longer.

     "Let me guess... the girl and 'Shu-chan' lived happily ever after,"
Chiho said in saccharine sweet tones, swooning in a not very convincing
manner. "Hello? Can you say 'contrived'? That has got to be one of the 
worst, if not _the_ worst story plot I have ever heard."

     "Yeah, well... for your information, it was a very vivid dream
I was having!" Ayame whined indignantly. 

     "You didn't dream those last two scenes," Chiho deadpanned as she
checked her pink, polished nails. "You're so weird you actually have a
_script_ for your dreams! Besides, what's the point in dreaming of 
something if you already know the ending?"

     "Already knowing the ending doesn't necessarily ruin the story!"
Ayame insisted as she began leafing through one of her many collections
of shojo manga pocketbooks. "Actually, I think it's kind of romantic...
think about it! Predestined lovers! It was through unchangeable fate 
that they'll be together, whatever the circumstances! I think it's
great!"

     "Well, I think it's unrealistic and totally improbable. C'mon... 
real life romances don't work out that way," Chiho said skeptically,
admiring herself in the mirror. "Aya-chan, I've said this before,
and you know I'll say it again...." Ayame rolled her eyes.

     "Get your head out of the clouds, girl!" both of the females
chorused in tones dripping in mocking disdain. 

     Chiho wagged her finger... a trademark mannerism on her part.
"If you already know what I was going to say and still do things 
your way, then there's no point in arguing with you."

     "At last... something we can both agree on," Ayame sardonically 
said.

     "Dear... you have many strong points. Sarcasm isn't one of them," 
Chiho retorted, nonplussed. "What do you see in those silly romantic 
stories anyway? Romance is boring." She then quirked her lips into a 
smile. "So much better yaoi... yaoi, yaoi, yaoi...." 

     Ayame recoiled in disgust. "Now don't you start with that yaoi
thing of yours! Ew... why do you have such a morbid fascination for gay
men anyway? To think, pairing up my Shu-chan with our _male_ classmates!
That's just weird. _You_ should be getting _your_ head out of the 
clouds."

     Chiho smiled impishly. "To hers her own I guess."

     Ayame ignored her friend's disturbing smile as she put her head
in the clouds again. <I don't see what's wrong with being predestined
lovers... fate is a romantic thing. If your love was meant to be, then
nothing could stand in its way... right?>




***




     Keiko walked silently in the darkness of the park, looking intently 
at the ground. Crossing her arms for warmth as the chilly remnants of the
winter solstice tousled her hair, she shyly spied the bench she sat on
yesterday. She pouted.

     <So he didn't come here after all,> she thought dolefully before she
caught herself. <Ah... why am I thinking such weird things... I just
came over here to thank him, that's all.> She looked at the time...
seven o'clock. She briefly wondered if her parents had noticed her slip
out of the house before quelling that thought as well.

     <He wasn't at the station either... but considering that we have
different schedules... ah, it's just silly of me,> she thought at the
back of her mind as she sat down a bit on the wooden bench. <I didn't
even really want to see him after last night.>

     She slowly got up the wooden bench after the hearing the crickets
begin to chirp. <I have to remind myself that it was only a one-time 
thing... Shimizu is too far away from Isesaki. I have to be 
realistic.> Her eyes became determined. <Well, he's obviously not 
here, so that's one bridge that I didn't have to cross.>

     "Keiko-san?" a voice softly said.

     After her initial shock, Keiko couldn't even bring herself to turn 
around.




***




     "We have to talk," Kurama said as he made his way toward Keiko, his
eyes clear and unclouded. 

     There was a pause.

     "K-Kurama-san! I didn't expect you to be here!" Keiko said as she 
gave him a beaming smile. She then looked at him with pensive eyes as her 
heart began to race. 
    
     He certainly looked breathtaking, with the way the mellow light 
highlighted his rose red hair, his emerald eyes shimmering. He seemed so 
cool, so... perfect. 

     Keiko shook her head as she remembered the things she had 
deliberated in school. <My heart is ready... I have to straighten things
out once and for all.> To Kurama, she cheerfully asked, "What brings you
here?"

     Words failed Kurama as he stumbled with what he was going to say...
where was he going to start? Neither of them was willing to acknowledge
what happened last night, but what did happen last night? Even after
he overanalyzed a dream in a semi-conscious state, he still couldn't 
figure out its meaning... its purpose. 
     
     <Or perhaps it just showed you answers you didn't like,> a specter
in his mind repeated mockingly.

     Emotions... feelings... they listened to no reason nor rhyme... 
when they decide to feel something, they just do. There were no 
pretensions but plenty of contradictions. Emotions were brutally frank 
and honest with who and what they were. Kurama was beginning to see
it as such... it would be a losing battle to analyze one's emotions.

     "I..." both chorused, turning away in embarrassment afterwards.

     "You first," Kurama offered.
 
     Keiko shook her head. "I want to hear what you want to say first.
I insist."

     Kurama took a deep breath as he braced himself. Emotions... were
very brutally honest. So perhaps that was what he was supposed to
do... be honest. 

     But how could he be honest about feelings he had no idea what to 
make of? He was a man of few words but many contemplations... but if 
contemplations failed him, would words follow? He certainly didn't want
to give Keiko lip service, so he had to... <Be honest.>

     "I got confused," Kurama simply said, rubbing the back of his head.
"I didn't know what I wanted. I... have been having these weird dreams
which I couldn't interpret. These dreams... messed with my own feelings
and emotions... it messed with what I interpreted as real or not."

     Keiko nodded for Kurama to continue, hanging on to every word he
said, trying her best grasp what he was trying to say. The kitsune
closed his eyes briefly, as if in deep meditation. 

     "To be frank, I still don't know whether or not these dreams are...
a reflection of a deep-seated desire in me." Kurama unconsciously licked 
his lips as the imaginary feel of Keiko's own lips came back to haunt
his mind. 

     "I never thought that these sorts of feelings existed within
me... it was like I was discovering a side of me I never realized 
was there. I have to admit that even this scares the supposed cool and
aloof Youko Kurama," he said with a half-smile on his face.

     "This only happened to me once before," Kurama said 
contemplatively.

     "Maya..." Keiko said, echoing Kurama's thoughts.  

     Kurama nodded curtly. "I... didn't break up with her, but when the 
time came when she... confessed her feelings to me, trouble struck. I
became... afraid. Afraid for her and... afraid of my own feelings. I
couldn't let her in... I never gave her a chance."

     "That sounds... so harsh," Keiko said. "I-I'm sorry of nosing-in on
your business, Kurama-san... but you had feelings for her! Or at the 
very least you liked her! Why did you have to push her away?" She didn't
let her mind wander any farther from that topic, afraid of the resulting 
backlash in her mind. 

     Kurama smiled wanly at Keiko... a smile amidst regret. "It's 
because she liked Shuichi's honesty, but never Kurama's earnestness."

     "Eh?" Keiko said, not quite fully understanding what Kurama was
trying to say.

     "She had this perfect image of me... of the nice boy-next-door
Minamino Shuichi," Kurama said in reminiscence. "But what she liked the
most about Shuichi-san was that he was... completely honest to a 
fault." Kurama chuckled a bit... a sad, humorless laugh.

     "She has never met Kurama. I never allowed her... because she has 
already fallen in love with Shuichi. But I realized..." Kurama suddenly 
looked straight into Keiko's wide, chocolate-brown eyes. "I can't be
Shuichi... I can't become the gentle saint she thought I was. So I...
let go."

     A long silence followed. Hands on his pockets, Kurama spoke again.
"After a scuffle with a couple of youkai where Maya was accidentally
involved, I gave her some pollen so that she could forget about
the incident, the youkai, and... me."

     A cold breeze passed by, rustling the leaves of the trees. Kurama
looked up in time to see cherry blossoms fall, dancing in the wind in
various patterns and forms. 

     "I'm sorry," Keiko sincerely said. "I was saying that it was 
cruel for you to do that to the girl without realizing that it was 
cruel to you to continue with such a relationship."

     Kurama nodded in kind to Keiko's assessment. "I'm kind of jealous
of Yusuke because of it." Seeing Keiko's curious look, Kurama continued 
his train of thought.

     "Yusuke doesn't worry about what others think of him. He goes 
about his business straightforwardly, not letting anybody dictate his 
actions," Kurama said thoughtfully. "Once he set his mind into 
something, he never gives up... his determination has no equal.
He's able to give his all in every battle he has fought and in every
situation he's faced with... and I could never be like that."

     Kurama sat down on the wooden bench, a distant look in his
eyes. "I could never be like Yusuke. I dither and hesitate too much...
I make too many considerations, too many second thoughts... too many
walls that are holding me back." He held back his breath. "Right now,
I'm not even completely sure who I am, much less what I want."

     Keiko placed her hand over Kurama's shoulders, her chin on his
head. "Can I talk now?" Feeling Kurama's nod over her position, Keiko
spoke.

     "You may over-think things too much for too long, but in the end,
you make your own decisions," Keiko said. "Emotions are one thing, but
what you do with those emotions are another thing altogether."

     "The way I figure it, Kurama-san's earnestness is quite very 
similar to Shuichi-san's honesty," she reckoned as she absently brushed 
off some stray sakura petals that had landed on her hair. "Kurama-san 
couldn't stand 'lying' to Maya-san, so he left her... he was too
brutally honest with himself to be able to stand such a situation."    

     "Kurama-san could only be Kurama-san," Keiko said as Kurama 
suddenly feels a surge of nostalgia in him. "Kurama-san could never, 
ever hurt the people he cares about the most... he never has any selfish
reasons behind his motives... because Kurama-san is nice."

     Kurama blushed as he looked away, embarrassed. What could you say
to that? "Thank you, Keiko-san."  

     Keiko giggled a bit. "Now don't think I'm coming on to you or
anything... but I meant what I said. Don't doubt yourself so much...
you said it yourself, you believe in fate, but you also believe in
your own freedom of will. You're confused right now, so you couldn't
fully understand the dream... but it will all make sense once you make
the dream your own."

     Kurama's eyes shot up as the words pierced through the cloud in 
his mind.
 
     "Ah... I'm saying some weird stuff here," Keiko said, embarrassed.
"I don't even know if I'm even making sense."

     "You are... you're making perfect sense," Kurama said as he stood
up, his eyes clear and his features relaxed... as if a huge burden was
lifted from his shoulders. "You're pretty insightful, Keiko-san. I
feel so revived... I must thank you again. It seems I owe you so much." 

     "If you owe me, then promise me one thing," Keiko said as she 
crossed her arms in the face of the coldness of the night, a friendly 
smile on her lips. "Clear your head... get it out of the clouds and
see things as is."

     Kurama chuckled at that. "I promise... but only if you'll promise 
to talk to Yusuke about the fight. He may be a hardhead sometimes, but
I can assure you, he'll never give up on you. Never ever."

     Keiko simply nodded, giving Kurama a token smile. "Then it's my 
turn to thank you, Kurama-san." She bowed respectfully. "Arigato 
gozaimasu." 

     No more words were exchanged that night as each went their separate
ways, having a better understanding of Human Nature and how it worked.


     

***




     Before the damnable drape of reticence covered then in further 
uncertainty, the imaginary Kurama furthered his admissions, stating,
"I could never be like Yusuke, I suppose... we're too different."

     Keiko grinned broadly as she giggled. "Well, isn't that the 
understatement of the century."

     Kurama chuckled heartily at Keiko's joke. "Yeah, I suppose it
is."

     Keiko looked into Kurama's eyes. "What happened to you? Your
eyes seem clearer... more focused. You're look like Buddha when he
finally reached enlightenment."

     Kurama half-smiled. "Is that so?" 

     "I'm just glad... that you're acting more like yourself. " 
She beamed... but soon, her smile suddenly had a hint of crookedness
to it. "You shouldn't bother trying to become like that uncouth, lousy,
good-for-nothing asshole... it's really not worth the effort, let me
tell you." 

     A large bead of sweat rolled down Kurama's temple as Keiko 
continued her tirade. "He's rude, stubborn, lewd, curses a lot, has a 
one-track mind and..."

     "He's so lucky to have you care about him so much," Kurama said, 
cutting-off Keiko's rant.

     "Humph," Keiko said with less fanfare than her earlier outburst. 
She wanted to add more, but a strange whirring sound suddenly came to
her attention. "Kurama-san, did you hear...?"

     The two stranded castaways paused for a bit as they strained to 
hear the sound.

     "It couldn't be!" Keiko exclaimed, shock.

     Kurama narrowed his eyes. "Yes, they are... they're...." Kurama 
brightened. "Keiko-san, they're speedboats! There are speedboats
at the shore!"

     Keiko squealed in delight. She suddenly sprinted toward the sandy 
shore, waving excitedly at the oncoming boats. Kurama was about to join
her in celebration when....

     <What are they...?> Kurama thought as his eyes widened in horror.
<Why are they pointing their guns at us!?>

     "Eeeek!" Keiko screeched, small gushing fountains of sand 
surrounding her as the men opened fire.
  
     "KEIKO-SAN!" Kurama shouted as he grabbed Keiko in a tight embrace,
making use of his body as a shield against the body of bullets.

     "Kurama-san! Let go! You'll get killed!" Keiko cried as sand
pelted the two marooned teenagers.

     Kurama held on her tightly, thankful that none of the bullets have
hit their mark. "No. Didn't you say that I won't ever hurt the ones that
I care about the most?" 

     Keiko stared at her blankly. "What the hell are you talking about?
I didn't say anything about that! Now let go before you get killed!"

     Kurama blinked at Keiko's words. He then remembered something. 
<That's right... this Keiko never told me that. The real Keiko did.>
Another thought crossed his mind... a simpler, but all the more 
surprising thought.

     <This isn't the dream Kurama talking... this is me talking,>
he noted, now fully understanding Keiko's words.

     "You're acting more like yourself."

     Kurama then heard a malicious chuckle.

     He gave a sidelong glance at the cackling man from behind him,
glaring through narrowed eyes.

     "What a touching scene. You two should really be lovers now, 
hm?" the dark, heavily-built man then chortled some more. 

     Before Kurama could react, he was already kicked forcefully at the
side. In his surprise as the air suddenly rushed out of his lungs,
he relinquished his hold over Keiko.

     "I thought sabotaging that helicopter of yours was enough... but
it seems that you two have more lives than a cat." The man cocked his 
gun. "Let me extinguish those excess lives for you."

     Kurama turned to his side, but the intense pain suddenly made
him wince. <My body... is weaker in this dream,> he dolefully noticed
as his vision became hazy. He willed himself to focus at the two blurs
in front of him, fighting the pain that pierced through his side. 
"Keiko-san... no...." 

     There was a scream, then a gunshot....




***




     "YOU ASSHOLE!!! Don't you dare lay one finger on Keiko!"

     Kurama knew that voice. As his vision cleared, it was his mind's 
turn to blur. <What in the....>

     The gun man flew past the prone Kurama, a spray of blood following 
behind his literally smashed jawline. Kurama's eyes widened in 
realization.

     "Y-Yusuke?" both Kurama and Keiko chorused as the person they 
addressed made quick work out of their aggressors.   
 
     Kurama then noticed the extra boat beside the other two speedboats. 
"I-it's... the coastline guard!" He sighed a breath of relief. <So 
that's how Yusuke got here... they must have followed these people to 
this island.>

     The coastline guard began surrounding the ruffians and hoodlums
as they were plowed down, one-by-one, by the hands of one very, very
pissed-off Yusuke. Blood, teeth and the sound of broken bones meshed
with cries of agony as Yusuke doled out his heavenly punishment.

     "Stop right there, or I'll shoot the girl!" a desperate-sounding
hoodlum said as he aimed his pistol directly at the shocked Keiko. 
"Don't think that I'm bluffing! I've wanted to kill this girl for a long 
time." 

     Yusuke slowly stalked the man, a feral look in his eyes.

     "I SAID GET THE FUCK AWAY!" the man hysterically screamed as he 
shot at Yusuke several times. Yusuke trudged on, as if he didn't 
even notice the bullet wounds in his person.

     "Go ahead, kill the girl," came Kurama's taunt. The man whirled 
his head wildly at Kurama, giving him an intense, demanding look.
Yusuke also stared at Kurama in the same manner.

     "If you kill her... what's to stop Yusuke from killing you?"

     The man darted his eyes back and forth at Keiko, Yusuke and 
Kurama... looking as if the three were hunters and he was the rabbit 
trapped in his whole. His hands trembled as he lost grip of his gun,
the firearm falling harmlessly on the grainy sands.      

     Kurama then turned to see an out-of-breath Yusuke suddenly walk 
toward a very stupefied Keiko. They looked at each other warily.

     "What the hell were you thinking, walking toward man while he held
a gun?!" Keiko asked frantically, breaking the silence. "He could have
killed you! You idiot!"

     Yusuke scratched his chin, not quite knowing how to respond to
that. "Oh, this? This is just a flesh wound. The man was scared 
shitless... he couldn't even aim his gun right."  
      
     "You're still an idiot! How could you be so careless?" Keiko
screamed as she tore her shirt's sleeve up to patch-up Yusuke's 
shoulder. "What took you so long?" she added softly.

     Kurama smiled wanly. "I guess this dream isn't about me anymore."

     "Only that part of the dream, Shuichi-san." 

     Kurama squinted his eyes again as his vision suddenly blurred.
He then turned to the source of the voice. "Maya-san."




***




     Kurama quietly emptied his desk as the oncoming exams made it 
necessary for him to study at home. He sighed... it had been three days
since he had last had his strange dream... and after that no more 
such dreams followed. <At last... the puzzle has really been solved
this time.>
   
     Kurama sensed a presence behind him... a particularly feminine
presence at that. <Ah... must be one of the Legion... should have known 
that this uncharacteristically quiet day was too good to be true.>

     Sure enough, as Kurama turned around, there she was... a girl of
medium height and sideburns that were as long as her bangs. He 
recognized her as one of the close friends of Chiho Sasae... the
infamous president of 'Legion of Minamino-sama.' He idly wondered
what the group wanted from him this time.

     "Ayame-san, isn't it?" Kurama politely noted as the girl suddenly
blushed. He gave her an open, friendly smile as he amicably asked, 
"What can I do for the Legion this time, Ayame-san?"

     Ayame shook her head as she tightly gripped the shojo manga she
was holding behind her. "I'm not here to represent the Legion, Shu--
Minamino-san." 

     Kurama quirked an eyebrow at the girl, not sure what to expect.
<It couldn't actually be...?>

     Ayame handed Kurama the hardbound girl's comic book, blushing in
spite of herself.

     Kurama, on the other hand, blushed in spite of himself as well,
but for a completely different reason. "Thanks... I think... but I have
to make things clear. Just because there are certain male classmates who
chase after me doesn't necessarily mean I entertain their...."

     Ayame giggled daintily at Kurama's defensive rant. She abruptly 
looked pensive as she continued. "I-it's not like that, Shuichi-san. 
This was a gift straight from my heart. I-it's a symbol of my... 
confession of love."    

     The statement confirmed Kurama's suspicions. <The poor thing.>

     Ayame must have seen the change of expression in Kurama's face
as she suddenly sputtered, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"I... see. I'm sorry for wasting your time. I could see it in your
expression that you don't exactly appreciate my attentions."

     Kurama wanted to say something but the girl gestured him to wait
and listen. "I would have never thought in my wildest dreams to
even attempt to do this. I was content with 'putting my head in the
clouds,' as my friends are wont to say." 

     Kurama nodded to the girl. "It must have taken you a lot of
courage to come forward like this."

     The young woman shook her head, rubbing her eyes of the slowly 
falling tears. "It wasn't courage... but rather a wake-up call. For
a long time, I believed that you and me were soul mates that shared
one mind... we had a mutual bond that was unbreakable." She sniffled
a bit as the tears won't stop falling.

     Kurama was well-aware that he and the girl were making a scene,
but unless he ended it here, he wouldn't consider himself a real 
man. 

     "But I had a dream last night that basically told me to wake
up."

     Kurama heart skipped a beat.

     "Fate and dreams are alike. It sets you on a path, a goal... it 
gives you purpose in life. But they could also become a trap... you 
could use fate as an excuse to not do anything, since everything is
predestined for you. So are dreams... living in a dream world 
provides you an escape from reality, so you really don't have to 
live in real life."

     Kurama swallowed the lump in his throat as nostalgia hit him
full force.

     "But fate could only take you so far... in the end its your
decision, your judgment that would decide your destiny. And so it
is with dreams...."

     Maya's face suddenly flashed before Kurama's eyes as the
last part of his dream suddenly presented itself in crystal clarity
in his mind's eye.




***




     As Kurama's vision became clear, all he saw now was a smiling Maya. 
He looked around his surroundings... sure enough, he saw the same street
where he and Maya used to walk home from school together. It was set in
the same afternoon sun... every detail of their daily routine was there
in full lucidity.

     Maya offered a congratulatory smile, saying, "Well done, 
Shuichi-san. Well done."

     "What was 'well done,' Maya-san?" Kurama asked, in awe of Maya's
image before him. He had many other things to say, many things to 
explain to her... or at least, the Maya inside of him... but he didn't 
know how.

     "I think what Shuichi-san did was well-worth the congratulations,"
Maya said, smiling enigmatically.  Seeing Kurama's confused face, 
Maya continued.
   
     "You haven't realized it? You have made this dream into your own
dream, Shuichi-san... just like Keiko-san suggested," the specter said. 
She then melancholically sighed. "I was able to address who Keiko-san 
is although in reality I've never met her, but your subconscious 
doesn't even allow me to call you by any other name than 
'Shuichi-san.'"

     Kurama was about to mutter an apology when Maya signaled for him
to stop.

     "I am happy as I am, being an image in your mind... because I am 
glad that somehow, you've let me in your heart. This is enough," she
stated, wiping a tear away. "I am happy that when you made this dream
your own, I was part of it... I'm more than glad to be part of your
dreams, Shuichi-san. Never forget that."  




***     




     "Minamino-san... I wanted to make that dream into my own," Ayame
said, her voice subdued. "So I did this... instead of living in my
dream, I went to live my dream."

     She laughed forlornly. "I knew that somehow it would come to this, 
but I have no r-regrets." Ayame's voice started to break up. "T-t-thank 
you for your time!" she finally said as she suddenly ran out of the 
classroom, bawling her eyes out.

     Kurama discreetly avoided the various glares directed upon his 
person as he surveyed the manga Ayame left. <I probably should return 
this....> He paused in mid-thought.

     The cover of the hardbound book showed a woman scantily dressed
with a sarong and a garland of tulips covering her chest. She was 
kissing a bespectacled man in an island backdrop with the sun setting.

     <No... it can't be... it can't....> Kurama disbelievingly thought
as he leafed through the pages of the comic book... a helicopter crash,
a lover affair, terrorists and a deserted island. He furrowed his 
brows. <What's going on? Is Chuuku behind this? Why?>

      It was the perennial question... the question which Kurama had 
asked since the start of his dilemma with Chuuku... a question which
still remained unanswered.

      Why? 




***




To be Continued...


Next:  Chiho's fantasy.

Note that I put in the title _Shonen_ not  _Shonen-Ai_. Shonen-Ai 
(male-male relationship) and yaoi are just not my cup of tea. This 
is dedicated to Chimamire Kitsune for giving me the inspiration to 
write this fic...wherever you are, this is for you.

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others) 
are the rightful property of Yoshishiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV 
and St. Pierrot. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

Ja ne!
C. Casta�eda


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