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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

This is the Yaoi Parody chapter. Sorry fangirls,
no actual yaoi content.

A few more notes before proceeding:

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech


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Chapter 8: Summertime
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     Kurama happily sauntered off the gates of Meiou High, obviously 
in a perky mood. His stride was resolute as he made his way home. He 
couldn't imagine himself to be any more happier than he was with all 
the gaiety and glee he exuded. 

     As usual, through an understanding school administration and 
Kurama's natural knack for Human World academics, he was able to pass 
his final tests with flying colors, despite his already numerous 
absences. But the further reason behind his cheer was the fact that 
today was the last day of classes... summer vacation was finally here!
It was a welcome break for the hard-pressed and stressed-out youko, 
who had to figuratively go through hell and back for the last three
months. 

     But he hadn't seen Hiei yet. After the recent events concerning
Chuuku... namely the possession of Kuwabara, the near-fatal ki-drain
of Yusuke, the near-death experience of Hiei and his own near-rendering
into an unintelligible vegetable... the koorime was just gone. Spirited 
away... no doubt in search of the undead, broken spirit that was now
the mutual enemy of all.

     He hadn't seen nor spoken to his little fire demon-ice demon 
hybrid/jaganshi/koorime/fellow youkai in months. It was already summer, 
for goodness sakes... meaning it was summer break, where he had an 
abundance of time to see his dear, sweet little Hiei. The fact that he 
hasn't seen him in a long time was getting him upset... and a little 
depressed.

     The youko's earlier happiness suddenly evaporated as he made his 
way into the train station. He had not yet completely recovered from
last spring's incident concerning his weird dreams about Keiko and some 
such. Still, he had a pretty dubious visualization in his mind... that 
was, instead of Keiko greeting him as the train doors opened, it was 
Hiei... sitting by the window and cleaning his sword.

     <This is silly of me... of course Hiei doesn't know how to ride
a train,> Kurama lightly berated himself as he sighed. He knew it was
frivolous of him to think that way, but it didn't hurt to dream, did 
it? 

     He rode the train in silence. He couldn't allow himself to think of
anything else other than getting home... as his experience with Keiko
taught, over-thinking something repetitiously was an inescapable mental 
prison. He didn't want to undergo the same experience this time... after 
all, there were some thoughts that were best left... un-thought.

     Scenes unfolded before the youko as if he was experiencing the 
events in the fast forward function of the VCR... incidents came and 
went, like short-lived bubbles freely floating in the summer breeze. 
First there was the PA system's blaring of Kurama's stop, then his muted 
exit from Shimizu station. From there, there was his mostly uneventful 
walk back home, and as he entered into the Minamino residence, time 
thankfully slowed down to its normal rate of passing. 

     Seconds ticked as he stared wordlessly at the doorknob. He
heaved a heavy sigh as he finally allowed himself to contemplate the
situation, revealing his innermost insights.

     <I should just open the door. Whether or not Hiei is there, the 
fact remains true... this is still my room. I'll understand if he 
hasn't come back yet. After all, he is trying to protect me from a 
soul sucking non-entity... that warrants as a valid excuse for his 
extended absence.> 

     So he opened the door and went in his sparsely-furnished quarters 
as he carefully avoided looking directly at the room, afraid to see it
empty... and lonely-looking.
 
     His eyes suddenly shimmered in his lonesome... the only other time 
he ever shed them. He really did miss Hiei so much. To think, he wanted 
to tell the koorime so many things... like his silly fantasy of Keiko 
and his inkling fears concerning Chuuku's involvement with it... how 
much he appreciated the koorime's awe-inspiring perseverance in saving 
his life... how much he wanted him to be at his side right now....

     "Oi, kitsune. What's with that lonely look on your face?" Hiei
scoffed in his usual stoic voice as he idly polished his long and 
deadly katana, his mostly raven-black hair wafting through the summer 
breeze.

     Kurama grinned, more delighted than stupefied. He didn't feel the
need to dilly-dally about how Hiei wasn't supposed to be there and
wondering about why Hiei was there. It didn't matter to him. Just as
long as the koorime was there, he was fine. The youko relaxed as a warm 
feelingenveloped him. It was a feeling of safety... a feeling of 
protection.  

     Hiei suddenly stepped down from his precarious perch on the window
sill and unabashedly embraced the shocked youko.  

     Kurama was startled but delighted with the gesture as he, albeit 
awkwardly, hugged his fellow youkai back. "Where have you been, Hiei? I
was so worried, I thought Chuuku got you," he quietly said as he caught 
the scent of Hiei's hair. It had a fiery, warm musk to it, like the
smell of the summer breeze which normal humans just couldn't catch. 
Kurama smiled. Hiei smelt of summer.  

     The taller youkai leaned back and playfully pointed at Hiei's nose.
He repressed a giggle when the fire demon's eyes crossed as he looked at
the curious gesture with open confusion. "Don't ever scare me like that
again."

     Hiei suddenly let go of Kurama, startling the youko a bit. The 
koorime inhaled deeply, visibly agitated, as he bowed down in typical
Japanese fashion.

     "What's this about?" Kurama asked, startled.

     "Hn. Just shut up." Getting his desired response, Hiei seemed to 
brace himself as he seemingly tried to collect the courage to say
something. Finally, he spoke.

     "I'm sorry."

     Kurama blinked several times before responding. "For... what?"

     Hiei growled audibly as he struggled with words. Talking, after 
all, wasn't his strong point. "I'm sorry that I've taken you for granted 
for so long."

     Kurama nodded slowly in understanding. Then, a flash of an impish 
grin formed on his face before it melted into an expression of innocence 
and wonder. "Taken me for granted...?"

     Hiei fidgeted a little as he avoided Kurama's beautiful gaze. 

     "You're teasing me, fox!" Hiei exclaimed, but it came out more like
a whine, to his chagrin. "What do you want me to say? That I was worried
when you were nearly rendered mindless by Chuuku?! That I had never 
been so scared in all my life at that very moment?! That...."

     "I love you too," Kurama said before silencing the koorime 
altogether with a soft, fluttering kiss.




***




     Kurama's eyes widened... fright, alarm and a whole other menagerie 
of feelings and emotions engulfing him as he woke up from his weird...
for lack of a better, descriptive term... dream.

     He rose from his prone position, his pillows curiously moist... 
it was probably from his cold sweat, he reckoned to himself. He then 
sniffed the air around him. He noted that he mildly smelt of salty 
sweat and... fright. He could tell, since a youko could smell fear.  

     His eyes darted back and forth in his darkened room for any sign 
of the koorime and his breezy summer musk. 

     No, he didn't just think that. 

     Kurama sighed. <Oh no... not this again.> Then he reconsidered his
statement... it wasn't as if he had dreams of kissing Hiei everyday. He
hastily tried to rephrase the thought before stopping altogether as he
realized how silly he was acting. 

     He fidgeted as he practically willed himself not to think for once.
Analyzing _that_ dream repeatedly in his head was not a prospect he 
looked forward to, after all.  

     Of course he couldn't help himself anyway.

     <Hiei...> he thought, alarmed and perplexed at the same time. He 
shook his head out of any presumption and premature conclusion as he 
tried to logically surmise the reason behind the curious fantasy.

     <What was the dream about this time? Am I... worried for Hiei? It
has been three months since I last saw him... he didn't even bother to
say good-bye.> 

     He then put a tentative finger on his moist mouth, tracing an
imaginary line over his lower lip. Thusly, after realizing what he did,
he suddenly looked sick to his stomach as he summarily turned blue.

     He coughed once... a curious human act that was only done when one
was embarrassed publicly by either a friend or otherwise. He thought it 
was a silly thing to do while no one was around, but he felt embarrassed 
enough to warrant it as a tolerable gesture.
     
     Kurama didn't want his thoughts to stray, but he was... irked with 
the fact that somehow... somehow he didn't have control over his 
present state of mind. 

     Control... he struggled long and hard with the phantasm Kurama in
his... no, in another person's... dream. He struggled to regain control
of his senses, of his... feelings and emotions. He had to draw the line
between what the he was feeling from what the fantasy Kurama was 
feeling.  

     He didn't like the fact that he was being dictated upon like some 
sort of marionette.

     He had to distinguish what was real and what was not... he had to 
delve deep into his subconscious to find out the simple truth.

     He had to open up a Pandora's box of locked-up emotions and 
feelings... it was an emotionally-draining experience for him, since
there was a reason why those feelings and emotions were locked-up in
the first place.

     He hated the fact that he had to go through the same thing all over
again.

     Well, not exactly the same thing. 

     <I actually... Hiei... and I... oh my,> Kurama loquaciously 
deliberated. He knew that, out of the four spirit detectives, he was 
the closest to the diminutive koorime. He knew all of the koorime's 
dark secrets. He had seen him when he was in his most vulnerable. He 
had seen sides of him that people didn't even dream existed... he 
knew of his reason for being, and vice-versa.

     <One thing is clear... even though I don't know how or why I became 
this... clairvoyant in terms of dreams, I do know that these dreams 
isn't necessarily a  reflection of my true self,> Kurama thought 
resolutely. <No matter how... compelling the dream may be, it still 
won't change anything. It was just a distorted way of looking at my 
relationship with Hiei... it was in most part true, but not necessarily
a hundred percent accurate.> 

     Now he was just sounding like the younger Toguro with his spouting
out of percentages and proportions. <I've been through this... I should
now know what to expect.>

     The loud pounding of his heart assailing his sensitive ears told
him otherwise. 

     <Okay... so Hiei and I are close... friends. I couldn't emphasize 
the word enough... _friends_. Just friends. We're nothing but friends,>
Kurama insisted to himself as he realized his own mental contemplations
were enough to convict him of his unrealized insecurities.

     <That's enough of that! I've been through this... the weird dreams,
I mean... and certainly not any particular genre of dream in 
particular... certainly not any particular dream concerning my dear 
Hiei... my dear _friend_ Hiei... that was what I meant to say... 
think... or something,> Kurama ranted as he tried to straighten out 
his thoughts. 

     An earlier question in his mind... a question which he had been 
continually asking himself lately... reemerged in his head... with an
added twist.

     "Why?" he asked the heavens, as if pleading for an answer. "Why 
me?"




***




     "Oi! Kurama! Kurama, ol' buddy! Ain't this a great coi... coin... I
mean, what are the chances?" Yusuke happily called out to the brooding 
youko, interrupting his deep meanderings. 

     Kurama sheepishly hid his face under the collar of his uniform
as onlookers began... looking intently at him and Yusuke. He discreetly 
waved hello at the boisterous teenager.

     "Who would have thought we'd meet here?" Yusuke said, his grin 
threatening to split his face.

     "Apparently... you," Kurama said as he gestured around their
current location. "Yusuke, what are you doing here in Meiou High? I 
doubt you even have a visitor's pass. Don't you have classes to attend
to?"

     Yusuke shrugged nonchalantly as he ambled toward the bench Kurama
was sitting. "Eh. What are classes compared to hanging out with my
good buddy? Besides, junior high classes were over hours ago."

     "I'm really flattered, but you probably won't attend classes 
regardless," Kurama deadpanned before he altogether chuckled. 
"Seriously, why are you here?"

     Yusuke nudged Kurama's side. "Heh... you really are the coy fox, 
aren't you?" The sleek-haired youth winked as he slung his arm over the 
older boy's shoulder. 

     Kurama boggled as Yusuke's face inched closer to his. <Oh no... did
I fall asleep again after waking up from the other nightmare? Is this
yet another one of those weird, weird dreams?> Kurama thought sullenly. 
To Yusuke, he weakly said, "What is it, Yusuke?"
 
     Yusuke proceeded to deeply, passionately give Kurama the noogie of 
his life... meaning rub his knuckles on the redhead's cranium. "Now 
don't try to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about! I owe 
you, man!"

     "You... owe me?" Kurama said as slowly and carefully as possible.
He rubbed the sore spot on his head, hiding his shamefaced expression by
looking away. <Okay... so it wasn't a dream and I was jumping to strange
conclusions. So Yusuke isn't... y'know...> Kurama thought, sighing in
disappointment.

     <Disdain! I was sighing in disdain!> the youko hurriedly 
supplemented in his aching head.

     "Hell yeah! Because of you, Keiko's not, y'know, angry at me 
anymore!" Yusuke gleefully said, before he hastily added, "Which is a 
good thing, 'coz, pffft, she's not bugging me with all her freaky, 
girly issues and stuff." 

     Kurama nodded in understanding. "Sooo... Keiko finally talked to
you, Yusuke?" he said offhandedly.

     Yusuke's eyes darted back and forth as he scrambled in his head for 
a change in topic. Seeing no avenue of escape, he relented. "Yeah, sort
of... something like that."

     Kurama heaved a relaxing sigh as his mouth curved into a leisurely 
smile, as if he had been holding his breath all this time until now. 
"That's good to hear." 

     Yusuke produced a wide grin in kind. "And I heard from her 
that I have you to thank for it." He pounded his chest in a show of 
machismo. "I am in your debt, Kurama! As it is now, I will do everything 
in my power to repay that debt! I swear to you as a man!"  

     Kurama merely sweatdropped. "Well, if it makes you happy. Just stop
rubbing my head." He then quickly rethought his statement as a couple of 
girls behind them began giggling. He sighed as he gave the said females 
a sidelong glance of pleading. 

     <No more rumor mongering, people! Don't you girls think that I've 
suffered enough since the last time? I went and talked to Shigeru-kun for 
more than one minute and then rumors started to spread that....> Kurama 
rubbed his temples as his previously oncoming headache finally 
surfaced. He remembered the incident that followed after the disastrous
gossip spread around the campus like a plague. 
 
     "Well, did'ya like the flowers?" the brown-haired youth had asked, 
anticipation clear in his voice. Kurama's face had turned as blue as 
the midday sky was during that forgettable episode of his life. 

     Then came the classic line of "Hello, miss... you seem all alone. 
May I accompany you?" It went to show how much self-control the youko
had when it came to these things... because, really, it took a lot
out of him to not suddenly turn 'youko' just to scare-off every
other creepy individual that hit on him... juvenile acts be damned. 

     <Well, suffice it to say that certain individuals either became
convinced that I was a cross-dressing girl in search of a long-lost 
fiance' here in Meiou... yeah right, like that's even feasible,> 
Kurama thought as he did the mental equivalent of a derisive snort, 
adding, <or that I was... well, let's just say that some guys didn't 
really care that I wasn't really a cross-dressing girl.> 

     Kurama suppressed the urge to shudder. <It wasn't very nice at 
all.> He then soundly blinked as he did a double-take at the objects of 
his indirect gaze.  

     "Hello, Minamino-sama!"

     The girl who Kurama unmistakably recognized as Chiho Sasae waved 
cheerfully... she was hard not to spot, with the loud colors on the
clothes that she was wearing and the large, dangling circlets hanging on
her ears that tinkled like wind chimes. A couple of other girls echoed 
the flashy girl's sentiments as they began to wave and giggle at the 
apparently popular bishonen.

     <Oh no. It's one of the 'detachments' of the Legion,> Kurama 
mentally groaned, referring to Meiou's unofficial fan club of him...
the 'Legion of Minamino-sama,' so to speak. The very same 'Legion' that
Chiho Sasae just happened to be the president of... it looked like it
was just another typical day at Meiou high.

     Yusuke nudged Kurama below the ribs again. "Minamino-_sama_, eh?
These girls are practically worshipping you... you lucky fox, you!" 

     Kurama chuckled half-heartedly at Yusuke's comment. <Oh Yusuke...
poor, innocent Yusuke... if you only knew.> 

     The kitsune then suddenly noticed a pensive-looking girl just 
behind Chiho... a very familiar face among the crowd of giggling girls 
since the expression on her face was in stark contrast with the rest of 
them.

     Kurama struggled to place a name with the familiar face. It was a 
face that was framed by auburn bangs that reached until the top of her 
eyebrows, covering most of her forehead... and sideburns that were just 
as long that gently wafted in the whispers of a warm, summer breeze.
These whispers soon formed into words... words that were both his own 
and hers.

     "I wanted to make that dream into my own. So I did this... instead 
of living in my dream, I went to live my dream."

     "Ayame-san," Kurama said as the name and the face suddenly clicked 
with his recent memories, not realizing that that he had let the words 
spill out, his own thoughts betraying him.     

     Ayame suddenly turned toward the source of voice... her eyes 
became as wide as saucers as her gaze met Kurama's. Her lips then
trembled unconsciously as she fought back the onset of tears.

     "Excuse me," she managed to squeak out before making a scene by 
running away in near tears. A girl suddenly followed her, someone
which Kurama remembered as one of his nicer classmates... Midori was
her name, he believed... calling out, "Ayame-san! Wait!"

     A couple of the girls that were waving at him cheerfully before
was now giving him outright glares, while the majority of girls
were merely grinning smiles of utter confusion... as if they didn't 
know who to side with and why. 

     Chiho, on the other hand, was the epitome of calm and collectedness 
as she gave Kurama one of her winning smiles. "I'm sorry about that,
Minamino-san... it was probably because ofsummer vacation jitters and 
all," she explained lamely, her mouth slightly quirking to a smirk as 
Kurama seemed to take note of the tamer '-san' honorific. She then winked. 
"I'd love to stay and chat, but we have places to go and stuff to do... 
besides, we wouldn't want to impose on your... friend over there. Right, 
girls?"

     Several girls nodded in affirmation as they laughed stiltedly,
while others... the ones that were glaring holes at Kurama... decided
to depart right then and there, leaving in a huff towards the direction
Ayame went.

     "See ya whenever... have a happy summer vacation, Minamino-san," 
Chiho said as she waved good-bye and left, followed by her somewhat 
embarrassed lackeys as they made a bee-line toward the school gates.
     
     Silence passed the two Spirit Detectives in an unhurried pace. 
"So... what was that all about?" Hearing no response, Yusuke prodded, 
"Going home?"

     Kurama nodded curtly, his eyes thin slits of grimness. 

     Bringing both hands on the back of his head, Yusuke casually said, 
"Going to Shimizu Station, right?" as he lazily gazed at the orange-red 
sky and the quickly setting sun.

     Kurama sighed as he gave the sleek-haired youth an acquiescent 
smile. "Yes."




***




     "Oooh! The nerve of that guy! I can't believe that Chiho put you
up to this!" one of Ayame's friends said as she seethed in pure anger.
She pouted cutely, highlighting her babyish features. "How dare he just 
look you in the eye and casually address you like that after dumping 
you! Unforgivable!"

     "Well, I think he's just a closeted fag! Did you see the other guy
that he brought to school?" the other one with the cap and denim jacket 
said as she sneered. She cracked her knuckles. "I'll show him how to 
become a real man... damn effeminate bitch!"

     "Now will the both of you please just stop?" Midori Ohya,
the mousy girl which ran after Ayame earlier, hushed the two girls
to silence, her whispered tones having an underlying sternness to it. 
Not being used to hear 'Midori the quiet girl' sound so... vehement, 
the admonishment had the desired effect on the two females.

     The timid-looking girl cooed soothingly at the softly sobbing
Ayame, trying her best to calm her down.  Except for her calming
tones, Midori was the picture of aloofness. Her face was near 
expressionless and unreadable, thanks in part to the coke-bottle 
glasses that hid her eyes. "Feeling better, Ayame-san?"

     Ayame nodded in between sobs. "Thank you, Midori-san." She smiled a
bit, mostly for Midori's sake. "I just... went ballistic there. It was 
so embarrassing. I hope Chiho isn't angry at me."

     Despite Midori's earlier reprimand, the puerile girl suddenly 
whined, "The hell with her! She shouldn't have went near Minamino, 
knowing that you were dumped! She's just as worse as he is... she and 
the rest of those 'Legion' nuts!"

     The manlier one of Ayame's two friends exclaimed, "Don't blame 
Chiho-san! Remember, Ayame-san is one of those supposed 'Legion'
nuts. We should focus all the blame on the one who deserves it... 
Minamino Shuichi! Damn men and their insensitivity... if he really is a 
man. He gives gay people a bad name."

     Midori wanted to say something, but Ayame gestured her to desist.
The distraught girl then addressed her two friends, saying, "I think
it's sweet that you care so much about me and my welfare. But I think
I'm all right... I was just a bit shocked at seeing Shu-chan... I mean,
Minamino-san so soon... and to think this is our last week in school, 
just before the Summer vacation. I guess what I'm trying to say is that 
it isn't really his fault, so don't blame him for everything. What 
happened... I guess that's just the way it is."

     Seeing the look in Ayame's eyes, the two went silent. They had
an inkling feeling on what that look meant... they finally put two and
two together. Minamino dumped Ayame, not the other way around... thusly,
Ayame was the one who was hurt... and she was still hurting because she 
was still in love with Minamino. Thusly, they concluded in unison that 
it was probably best if they both shut up... lest they rubbed more rock 
salt into Ayame's raw and bleeding heart.

     Midori gently stroked Ayame's hair as the taller girl put her
head on the shorter girl's shoulder. The timid female almost didn't 
hear Ayame's half-whisper of rhetorical askance.

     "I wonder what Minamino-san is dreaming about nowadays?"


     

***




     "So absolutely no comment on what happened a while ago?" Yusuke 
said as he walked with Kurama home.

     "Long story," Kurama said tersely.

     "Okay," Yusuke said as he again gazed at the fast descending sun.

     There was a long pause. Kurama broke the silence by getting 
straight to the point.

     "You're not going to follow me from my school to my home now, are 
you, Yusuke?" Kurama frankly asked. "Though it's kind of flattering to 
think you're indebted to me, I don't think it would warrant stalking me 
at every turn."

     There was another long pause. Yusuke whistled an offbeat tune
before replying.

     "I know you tried, but you suck at 'getting to the point' type of
conversations," Yusuke said, showing that he was a master at 'getting to 
the point' type of conversations. 

     Kurama didn't know how to reply to that. Of course, that was 
natural when it came to Yusuke... but the perseverant teenager did have 
a point. "Any suggestions?" 

     "For one thing... _simpler_ words," Yusuke said, emphasizing the
fact through a wide arm gesture. "Fuck that... simpler, _fewer_ words.
It doesn't hurt to make yourself a little bit more understandable."

     "Fine... simpler, fewer words. And then?" Kurama said, amused at 
where the conversation was going.

     "Stop avoiding the issue," Yusuke said, nodding sagely. "I learned
that from Keiko... the fact that you can avoid an issue, I mean. I 
never avoid an issue. In simpler terms, you should be more honest
with yourself." 

     Kurama chuckled at Yusuke's statement. <So she threw my own words
at him when she finally talked to him,> he thought amusedly. <And now
Yusuke is throwing those very words back at me.>

     "To make a long story short, Ayame-san was a girl who had the 
misfortune of falling for me," Kurama thoughtfully said... and he left
it at that. He still wasn't sure what to make of the eerie dreams he 
had of Keiko. 

     He also wasn't sure if all of it was somehow connected to Ayame's 
peculiarly similar dreams or if it was even somehow connected to Chuuku 
and the events that preceded it. 

     He wasn't quite sure if he should tell Yusuke anything about it at 
all, since he hadn't figured it out himself.

     Yusuke looked at Kurama crossly. "That wasn't straight to the 
point. That was ambiguous and shit." The half-demon then rubbed the
back of his neck in grudging acceptance. "Oh well. To expect something
simple from you is an exercise in futility." 

     Kurama shrugged helplessly. "What can you do?" He then looked 
toward the horizon... sure enough, they were already nearing the train 
station. He backtracked the conversation in his head... as he thought 
more about it, the events from last spring seemed far-off and distant. 
<Like it was just a dream,> Kurama thought with a glint in his eye.  

     "I wonder what that showy girl meant by 'We wouldn't want to impose
on your friend over there'?" Yusuke suddenly wondered out loud, more to 
himself than to anyone else. Nonetheless, it proved to be Kurama's rude 
awakening of sorts. "I didn't like her tone of voice, and she was kind 
of looking at us funny," the impulsive teen further mused.

     Kurama didn't like the direction the conversation was going... not
one bit. "I'm sure it was just a silly thing with no great importance."
He then smacked his fist on his palm as he gestured wholeheartedly 
toward the train station. "Oh, look! The station! I'll be going now. See 
you later, Yusuke!" 
 
     Yusuke, for his part, didn't even seem to notice Kurama's 
exaggerated actions and words. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was 
suggesting that we were both gay lovers!"

     There were times when Kurama wished Yusuke was far less blunt. This
was one of those times. He facepalmed in frustration. 

     "I suddenly don't quite like that friend of yours, Kurama,"
Yusuke resolutely said. "Why, she's just as worse as Chuuku, the ghost
fag!"

     Before Kurama became conscious of it, he had already cocked
his eyebrow at Yusuke's statement. He suddenly found himself curiously 
peeved at hearing such a derogatory statement about homosexuality.

     "That Chuuku... he's just disgusting. He wanted Minamino Shuichi?
What kind of shit is that?" 

     Every word from that statement elicited a feeling of shock 
and dismay in Kurama that he never thought was there in the first place. 
He winced at each and every tiny barb that came out of Yusuke's foul
mouth as his body began to shake with inexplicable rage.

     "Well, I say what he's doing is a fucked-up way of showing his 
faggy feelings for you. I should just kick his nonexistent ass so hard 
his nonexistent descendants would be shitting through their--"
     
     "Keep quiet, Yusuke."




***




     Yusuke was literally startled out of his rant. The words he heard
were barely above a whisper, but the venom and vehemence in them was
sharp and crystal clear as glass shards. He blinked. "Oi... Kurama,
you okay?

     He felt a vague presence of demon energy in the air as the hairs 
on the back of his neck started rising. <Youki?> He then winced as he
finally met the youko's stare.

     It had the look of ineffable cold rage. Kurama's glare pierced 
through Yusuke's senses as sharply as the hints of youki in the air. He 
spoke in tones more reminiscent of his true youko self rather than his 
gentler, kindlier human alter ego.

     "You and your homophobic tendencies. You speak as if Chuuku 
suddenly became more disgusting... more villainous with his 
preferences."

     "Now hold on just a minute!" Yusuke protested. "I never said 
anything like that! When the hell did this become a debate about 
homos and fags?"

     Kurama just snorted derisively. "Why, Yusuke? Do you find 'fags' 
so revolting that you naturally equate them with all that is evil in the 
world? So all faggots are evil since they engage in sordid little acts 
of perverseness and depravity?"

     "What the hell's the matter with you, Kurama? You're acting 
so weird! I was just trash-talking Chuuku, that's all!" Yusuke
yelped, not sure where the conversation was going. As it was, he was
just confused and shit. "Since when did you become an advocate of 
homosexuality anyway?" 

     "Since I found myself suddenly insulted with what you were saying,"
Kurama hissed through barely controlled tones. "What did you say when 
you first heard Chuuku admit that he had a liking for me? 'Faggot'... 
you said, as if it was some sort of cuss or insult. And then, just now,
you said, in paraphrase, that you'll kick Chuuku's 'faggy ass'... if 
that isn't discrimination and bigotry talking, then I don't know what 
is."

     Yusuke was suddenly caught in a compromising situation that he
thought was only unique with Keiko Yukimura... the situation of having
your foot stuck in your mouth.  His own words now trapped him in 
Kurama's compelling case... how did one respond to such an argument?
He didn't even know how he got into that situation in the first 
place... nonetheless, he was going to get out of it in the only way
that he could... the Urameshi way.

      "Look, Kurama... maybe I am a bit... homophobic," Yusuke 
acquiesced, not entirely understanding the word he was lolling in his
mouth. "I don't deny that. But don't go on telling me that I said those 
words on purpose to victimize people. I said them to insult one 
person... Chuuku."

      "But using those words as a way of degrading people... don't you
think, in turn, that _that's_ a good way of victimizing people? Isn't 
giving their lifestyle some sort of negative connotation a form of 
discrimination?" 

     <The guy's got a point,> Yusuke thought reluctantly. <Damn, I hate
walking on eggshells.> He looked Kurama straight in the eye. "Look, I 
don't claim myself to be the most wholesome person in the world, and I 
can't take back anything I've already said, but I won't be even pretend
to be sorry for Chuuku for calling him a fag. Why? Because there's a 
distinct difference between 'fag' and 'gay' in my book."

     Yusuke thought hard for a viable example. "Okay, it's like this...
it isn't evil for a guy to have sex with a girl, right? But if a guy 
rapes a girl, then it becomes evil. Chuuku, for all intents and purposes 
in my eyes, wanted to _rape_ you, Kurama... meaning do you 
unwillingly, in whatever manner I don't even want to think about. I 
would do a lot more than just _insult_ him because of the threat he
posed." 

     Yusuke breathed a heavy sigh. He hated thinking about complex
moralistic bullshit... he did what he felt like doing and said what he 
felt like saying. That was Yusuke Urameshi in quintessence. "Do you
understand what I'm trying to say here, Kurama?"

     Kurama didn't look completely convinced, but his previous livid
anger had already subsided dramatically to tolerable levels. He then
rubbed his temples as his head throbbed with the onset of a migraine. "I 
think so."

    So, as it had started, so will it finish... silence again passed the 
two Spirit Detectives in an unhurried pace. 



***

 


     Yusuke plopped down on the dusty walkway, a feeling of fatigue
enveloping him. <Man, I think I'm also getting a headache.> He then
watched as the prim and proper Kurama uncharacteristically sat beside 
him on that very sidewalk. "Aren't you going to go home, Kurama?"

     "I can manage, Yusuke," Kurama assured as he mentally 
deliberated the situation. <What made me snap at Yusuke like that?
I nearly bit his head off with all the... hostility that brimmed 
on the fine line that was holding my temper in check.> 

     Yusuke laughed half-heartedly as he watched the sun finally set
across the horizon as its light slowly faded into irrelevance. "Boy, I
didn't know that you were a gay rights activist, Kurama. If only I knew,
maybe I would have watched what I was saying... not that I'm making any
promises or anything." 

     Kurama pensively nodded. <Awkward. Everything is definitely 
awkward... but who could blame him? I didn't even know where that 
outburst came from.> His eyes widened as Yusuke slung his arm amicably 
around his neck.

     Yusuke grinned like an idiot as he spoke. "That's what I like about 
you! You're honest and sympathetic to a fault. Why, the first time I met
you, you were hell-bent on sacrificing yourself to save your dear ol'
'kaasan. I think you're quite a guy!"

     Kurama blushed in spite of himself. He suddenly felt very 
uncomfortable with Yusuke's close proximity. A hodgepodge of perplexing 
feelings of apprehension, anxiety or whatnot began to make Kurama feel 
squeamish. 

     <Why do I feel so defensive?>

     Kurama couldn't even return the younger boy's gaze. The fearful 
thoughts in his head just simply... paralyzed him.

     <What am I supposed to realize?>

     Realization struck a chord in him... a chord that he didn't want
to acknowledge nor understand. 

     <No, no... anything but that....>

     Eternity came and went as the youko's feeling of trepidation rose 
to disturbing levels. He un-slung Yusuke's hold on him as calmly as 
possible as he felt his own sense of self shrink back into the dark
recesses of his mind. Yusuke just looked at him in innocent askance,
a puzzled look on the raven-haired boy's face.

     "Yusuke," he said straightforwardly, "do you think I'm gay?"




***




     Yusuke sat there on the sidewalk, awestruck beyond mere words, as 
the horizon quickly adopted a definite blurred, faded quality to it. But 
the half-demon barely even noticed all that despite his heightened senses 
et al because of the situation at hand... not that anyone could blame him.

     "You... are... um... ooh... you..." Yusuke garrulously said. Kurama 
just stared sheepishly at his fellow spirit detective, who was now doing 
a great impression of a lawn ornament.

     "Are you alright, Yusuke?" Kurama curiously asked his awestruck 
companion.

     Yusuke suddenly laughed out loud. "Kurama, you wouldn't believe the
crazy daydream I had! I dreamt that you asked me if you were gay... ain't 
that just some freaky shit?"

     Kurama looked away as he bit his lip. "I did ask that, Yusuke. Just
now." He then sighed as Yusuke froze up again in shock. <This is getting 
me anywhere.>

     Seeing that everything was now out of the closet, <Open! Everything 
is now out in the open!> Kurama simply continued his perilous train of
thought. "Just a while ago, I had a weird dream about Hiei... now, I'm 
not an expert at interpreting peculiar dreams and all, since my original 
youko only had dreamless sleep, and my present human form was having
all these strange fantasies just recently... that was why I had to ask
that question." 

     Staring sightlessly into the blackened sky, Yusuke dared ask, 
"What did you dream about Hiei? I mean, what happened in your dream?"

     Kurama wiped his mouth unconsciously as the memory resurfaced 
in his mind. "I dreamt that... we... kissed." 

     Yusuke suddenly stood up energetically. "My, my! Look at the time!
I gotta run, Kurama! I have classes tomorrow, y'know! Later!"

     Kurama tugged at the younger boy's sleeve, giving him a solemn
look. "You owe me, remember?"

     Yusuke grudgingly settled back to his seat on the pavement, 
groaning. Kurama gave a small nod of appreciation, but he could still
feel the barrier that had come between them. <I guess it couldn't be 
helped.> 

     Kurama stubbornly stared at Yusuke intently while the sulking 
half-demon did his best to ignore the youko. In all seriousness, Kurama 
asked, "It's not the voice, is it?"
  
     "Uhhhh... nice weather we're having, eh?" Yusuke said 
appreciatively, pointing at the diamond sky. "Even at night, the 
temperature remains warm and... er... not cold."

     "Is it my mannerisms?" Kurama prodded, not at all willing to relent
to Yusuke's 'feigning of innocence' act. "Do I look too timid? Too
unassuming?"

     "I saw a falling star!" Yusuke cheered, sniggering happily. 
"I think I'll make a wish... three guesses on what that wish will be."

     Kurama began to look desperate. "Is it the way I dress?"

     Yusuke began lobbing mini-Rei-gans at nearby trees, branches and 
the occasional squirrel, amusing himself in a way only a six-year-old 
child with a toy air gun would understand.

     "But it's not fair! How was I to know that Meiou had all the males
wear _pink_ uniforms? I had nothing to do with it!" Kurama ranted mostly 
to himself, despairing as he finally noticed his general state of dress.

     Yusuke whistled merrily as he turned his back on Kurama, plugging
his ears with his pinky fingers. Kurama sighed in defeat... he couldn't
blame Yusuke if he couldn't get through this wall of awkwardness that
was surrounding them right now.

     "Actually," Yusuke said quietly and suddenly as he gave Kurama a 
sidelong glance, his expression contemplative, "it's your hair."

     "Ah! I knew it!" Kurama said as he smacked his fist into his palm.
"I always had an inkling suspicion that it was my hair. I considered 
cutting it, but it just seemed too practical for me to sport long hair, 
since I could hide my demonic seeds in it before combat." He blinked as 
he stopped in mid-rant. "Wait. You think my hair makes me look gay?"

     "Yeah. That, and you hang out with Hiei a lot," Yusuke said. He
then raised both his hands up as a sort of warding gesture. "It was just
a silly thought I had that I never really took seriously. That's why I 
almost choked at my own spit when you mentioned that you dreamed of... 
Hiei."

     "Just try to imagine how that makes _me_ feel," Kurama said, 
smirking before he brooded again.

     "Sooo..." Yusuke started, swallowing a bit nervously. "You're gay,
huh?"

     "NO!" Kurama vehemently exclaimed, before adding, "I mean, I wanted 
to be sure about things. I only asked because I wanted an outside 
opinion."

     Yusuke nodded slowly. "It must have took you a lot of guts to ask 
something that... fucked-up... er, no offense, man."
 
     "None taken," Kurama said. There was a brief pause that seemingly 
stretched for eternity.

     The red-haired boy braced himself to continue. "I had a different
dream earlier... about me falling for a girl I barely even knew."
Kurama closed his eyes, lightly hugging himself as he visualized his 
tight embrace on Keiko. 

     Yusuke whooped for joy. "That's great! So you dreamt about 
something, er, straight? Problem solved! You're not gay!"

     "But I discovered that deep in my heart that wasn't my own dream." 
Yusuke quickly deflated upon hearing Kurama say that.

     When Kurama opened his eyes again, he discovered that he was still 
dreaming, holding not Keiko, but Maya. However, Maya's face was 
curiously obscured by dark shadows. 

     Yusuke immediately perked up again. "Well then... problem still 
solved! This dream is probably not 'your own dream,'" Yusuke said, 
emphasizing the quotation marks on his highlighted phrase by gesturing 
them animatedly with the first two fingers of each of his two hands. 
"You really don't have to think about that shit too much. Everything's 
cool."  
    
     Kurama shook his head. "It's not that easy. Last time, I had to 
sift through my innermost thoughts and feelings to find out what was 
real and what wasn't... what was curious about the dreams is that a fine
line was meshed between what was reality and what was fantasy."

     Yusuke exhaled noisily. "So you're thinking that there's the slight 
chance that this dream is merely showing you that you might actually be 
queer?"

     Kurama just stared numbly at Yusuke for a bit before concurring, 
"In not so many words." 

     Yusuke gulped as another thought occurred to him. "So have you been
feeling some... er... gay stuff lately?"

     Kurama quirked an eyebrow at that. "I'm feeling... anxiety right 
now, but anxiety doesn't necessarily equate to any emotional feelings. I 
guess I'll just have to cross that bridge once I get there."

     Yusuke blinked. "You're taking this all well."

     Kurama patted Yusuke's shoulder. "I guess I have you to thank for
that. Telling you all this has lifted a huge burden behind my back.
Thank you, Yusuke-kun!"

     Yusuke just froze there as he nodded in kind. Kurama then suddenly
realized that they were touching and were real close to each other.




***




     "Sooo... what now, Kurama?" Yusuke said nonchalantly as he kept a
discreet arm's length distance from the kitsune, quelling the awkward 
feeling in his person.

     "One thing at a time, I guess," Kurama said as he looked at 
everything except Yusuke's general direction. "Go home, then go to sleep.
If there are more dreams, then so be it."

     "Look... I could still remember your homophobia rant in my head, 
so..." Yusuke began, visibly agitated, "y'know, this homophobe beside you
may take a while to adjust if ever... y'know... things come out the way 
they... come out." The younger boy rubbed the back of his head 
sheepishly. "So please understand that I haven't meant any insult by 
my... y'know...."

     "I know, Yusuke... I know," Kurama said as he nodded to himself in
acceptance. "You're doing fine. Thank you for all your support."

     Kurama slipped the ticket in the designated slot as he made his way
among the waiting crowd. He was about to make a bee-line towards the 
train's automatic doors when Yusuke suddenly called out to him.

     Kurama turned to face the youth. "What is it, Yusuke?"

     "I still remember your response. Is it still the same as before?
     
     Kurama blinked at Yusuke in confusion. "What response?"

     "When I asked if you were gay, you practically shouted out 'no'... 
many people would say that it was just denial, or it might just be a 
reflexive answer. But I believe that the first thing you'd answer to a 
question with no hesitation whatsoever is your true answer." 

     Kurama considered that. "But what if it wasn't my first answer?
What if I was just afraid of my true answer and I just exclaimed what
I wanted to hear? What if this is just your own state of denial at
work? There are just too many questions that are left unanswered right
now, Yusuke."  

     Yusuke turned serious for a moment as he looked Kurama in the eye.
Kurama's heart skipped a beat at the intensity of Yusuke's stare. <Did
that mean something... my heart skipping a beat? Is it even more fodder 
for some hidden meaning?> 

     "If you were gay, it wouldn't matter. Your 'kaasan wouldn't really
care about that. Kuwabara had inklings about it before but he wasn't 
really all that worried. Hiei will probably just wonder if you can 
still fight if you're gay. I'll live. So do you still want to be gay?"

     "No, not really."

     Kurama blinked as he heard his own words. Yusuke simply nodded
as he waved good-bye at the demon fox. 

     <I was too afraid to know the answer that I just froze up whenever 
I thought about the question. I should just calm myself down.>

     He chuckled to himself as he exhaled a relaxed sigh. <I'm an even
bigger homophobe than Yusuke is,> he thought amusedly as he made his 
way towards the railway transit.




***




     Kurama stifled gasp as he assessed his current bearings.

     <This place... it seems very familiar.>

     He scanned the surrounding area... true enough, the ruble and 
debris gave more weight to his suspicions... it was a familiar place 
where a battle had just recently occurred. He felt a wave of nostalgia 
reverberate in his mind as he intuitively felt that somehow the 
surrounding area should have lot more wreckage than it already had.   

     <Hm... why should I feel that way? What is it with all this rubble
and debris anyway?> Kurama thought as he further surveyed the area. It 
was a narrow alley, and even though one would expect a bit of filthiness 
in this sort of place, it was still pretty obvious that there had been a 
struggle. 

     Upon further inspection, everything suddenly made sense in the 
youko's psyche as his made inaudibly clicked in understanding. <This 
place... this alleyway... this was where I found Hiei after he first
met and fought Chuuku.>

     Kurama checked out his immediate surroundings beyond the alley. 
True enough, because it was already past midnight, there was not a soul 
in sight. The streets were empty, slightly illuminated by what few 
lights remained open on this side of the city. It was an entire block of 
urban poverty. He stared blankly at a pock-riddled wall, feeling as if
somehow, something was missing. Something was different.

     <Wait a minute... this wall... isn't this the wall where Hiei was 
supposed to be slumped against after he was defeated by--?>

     Kurama barely evaded the swift sword stroke that nearly clopped 
off his head. He hastily wafted over the surrounding building's rooftops, 
his eyes wide in shock.

     "Hiei?"

      The youko leaped from one building to another, his mind filled 
with a myriad of unanswered queries as the koorime in question charged
again, waving his glinting katana ominously. 

     "Why are you doing this, Hiei?!" Kurama exclaimed, the questions 
echoing in the entire block, the hint of worry in his voice still
apparent in each and every reverberation.  

     The koorime wordlessly glared at Kurama... it wasn't a cruel, 
unfeeling glare that one would expect from a cold-blooded assassin... it 
was somehow different, with hints of... something which the kitsune 
couldn't readily identify as of now. 

     Kurama didn't have time to think. He could barely follow Hiei's
quick movements with his eyes... he had to act now. The youko promptly
pulled a rose seed from his hair as he imbued it with his demonic 
energy.  

     "Die," Hiei said simply as he hurtled toward Kurama at incredible
speeds, destroying everything in his path. Only through pure reflex and 
skill did Kurama avoid being skewered by the apparently maniacal fire
demon. 

     <Hiei would never attack like this... not without a reason.> Kurama
looked again at Hiei's enraged eyes. <He's not acting like himself.>

     Something again clicked inside Kurama's mind. <I see. This isn't 
the real Hiei... this is just a version of him in my dream.> He narrowed 
his eyes. <Thankfully, this is the real me this time, and not just my 
fantasy self, since I am able to tell that this is all just a dream.>

     Kurama swung the youki-filled rose stem in a crescent-shaped arc, 
creating a dancing flurry of rose petals that encircled him. The 
fragrant and vibrant petals that danced around the youko were 
contrastingly sharp and deadly as shards of glass, capable of rendering 
even steel. Hiei knew of this well as he backed a couple of feet away 
from the deadly torrent.

     <I see...so this is a dream where I have free control of both my
mental and theoretically physical faculties... just like in the last
parts of my dream of Keiko.> An amused smile crept along the edges of 
Kurama's mouth. <And this Hiei is just a doppelganger of sorts.>

     Kurama smiled impishly before he broke into an outright chuckle. 
"It's about time I had a real fight. I have had just about enough of 
these inane human affairs."

     Kurama waved the rose stem once, elongating it into a thorny whip.
He then whirled the whip into a spiral, directing the deadly petals 
towards Hiei's diminutive form, making the wary koorime back away a few 
more steps. 

     Before Kurama realized it, his eyes suddenly had a golden shimmer 
to it as he smirked. "At least now I'm back to familiar ground. I am 
more used to this type of situation."

     "Enough of this nonsense," Hiei said darkly as his third eye 
unceremoniously opened. With his heightened senses, the koorime easily 
slashed and cut away the petals before they even touched him.

     With no further hesitation or contention, Kurama attacked.

     As Hiei defended against the whip's strike, several of the 
untouched petals suddenly danced around his forearms, creating numerous 
bloody wounds and gashes. Kurama then quickly retracted the whip, 
redirecting even more petals towards the jaganshi.

     If one defended against the petals, then Kurama would strike with 
the whip... if one instead chose to defend against the whip, then Kurama 
would strike with the petals... it was the perfect deathtrap technique. 
It was a technique that kills without hesitation.

     "You fight with little uncertainty now, kitsune," Hiei hissed as he
defended against the deadly shard-like petals. "You're as cruel and 
merciless as ever, Youko Kurama." He spat the name like it was poison.  

     "I have no reason to hesitate. I have nothing to debate in my 
head." There was a ghost of a smile on the youko's lips as he prepared 
another strike. "I only have one purpose to fulfill as of this 
moment... to fight. It has nothing to do with mercilessness nor 
cruelty. I only live by the moment, nothing more." 

     "More nonsense," Hiei growled as he simply burned the errant 
petals from his path. He then quickly cut the distance between him and
the youko, his katana sheathed as he readied his sword-drawing stance.

     <That's not quite enough, Hiei,> Kurama thought as he snapped his
wrist, making the pointed edge of his rose whip snake toward Hiei's 
back.

     The fire demon just barely avoided being impaled by the sharpened
end of Kurama's favored weapon as he twisted his torso. He also blocked
the remainder of the whip's attack with his half-drawn sword, shearing 
bits and pieces of thorn and plant fiber. 

     <Skillful and resourceful as ever... but those qualities doesn't 
necessarily put you on equal footing with the real thing, 
doppelganger.> 

     Kurama merely caught the barbed end of his rose whip with his
hand as Hiei approached. He threw it again at the hurtling koorime,
aiming it at his exposed third eye. The jaganshi merely swatted
it away like a fly.

     It was exactly what Kurama wanted Hiei to do. The rose whip 
completely surrounded the stunned Hiei like a barbed lasso. With one 
simple tug, the lethal weapon wrapped itself tightly all around the 
dumbstruck koorime's body as he fell into a bloodied, torn heap.

     "The moment ends here," Kurama simply said as he began slipping the
rose whip deeper into the fire demon's person, tearing flesh and bone. 
"Speak your peace before the moment is gone. Why did you attack me?"

     "I won't die by your moment," the koorime gravely said as he
held the constricting rose whip at bay with his sword. He looked at 
Kurama through pained eyes, gritting his teeth as his determination 
brimmed to new heights. 

     He slashed upwards with both hands on his sword, tearing the rose 
whip into pieces. At a fraction of a second, before one could even
retract one's eyelid to complete a blink, he was already upon Kurama, 
his sword aimed directly at the youko's heart.
     
     Kurama coolly blocked the oncoming attack with the remainder of his
rose whip, holding it taut with bleeding hands. He then proceeded to 
wrap the barbed vine all over the metal blade and, with one quick and 
resolute twist, shattered the deadly curved sword. 

     "Disappear from my midst, doppelganger." The youko then let go of 
the other end of the rose whip, whisking it at Hiei's cheek. The koorime
recoiling from pain as it easily tore through his cheek's skin.

     Shimmering ebony gems that clattered on the ground shook Kurama out
of his furious counterattack. <What is this?> He then looked at Hiei's
bloodied face... his pained gaze... his shimmering eyes.

     Kurama's eyebrows raised up in surprise. <Those were... Hiei's 
tear gems? He cried black tear gems?> Another thought entered 
Kurama's stunned mind. <He... cried...? Was my attack that painful?>

     "It was a strike with no hesitation," Hiei said through a deadened
gaze, the left part of his face bloodied and rendered.  

     <What have I done?>

     The earlier fire of mindless combat melted from Kurama's gut as he
recoiled in disgust of himself. <The thrill of the fight... living by 
the moment... he was right. It was all nonsense. I just butchered him 
mindlessly.> 

     Kurama couldn't think... couldn't act... as he stared back numbly 
at Hiei's ached look, finally understanding that it wasn't caused by
one of numerous the physical injuries he had inflicted upon the koorime. 

     "So is this your answer, fox?" Hiei queried.

     Kurama froze from his spot as he heard the words echo painfully
in his psyche. He didn't know what to think or what to do anymore. He
looked at the Forbidden Child, his emerald eyes reflecting the koorime's 
numbed gaze. 

     Kurama closed his eyes, remembering the near-sadistic cruelty he
had displayed earlier... the smell of blood wafting through his nose as 
its crimson spray mesmerized him, every droplet clear in his sensitive
youko eyes.

     It all just sickened him now. Hiei's blood... the smell of it...
it was all over him, revolting him further. He had hurt him. He gave
him excruciating pain. The image of Hiei's pained gaze haunted his
presently unseeing eyes like no other. He felt appalled of himself.

     <I could never do this. I could never hurt him in this 
meaningless, brutal and impetuous way. I could never hurt someone I love 
so much like this.> The last words Kurama uttered in his mind destroyed 
all of his remaining resolve to distance himself away from the dream.

     He opened his eyes. Sure enough, the koorime was gone. He dropped 
his guard down completely as he did the same with his frayed rose whip.
He waited for the strike patiently, the seconds seemingly stretching
forever.     

     He didn't even feel the sword's strike as it completed its dismal 
arc. 
    

 

***




     Kurama panted heavily as he finally awoke from his latest dream,
his mind in shambles.

     "Nothing makes sense anymore," Kurama said sullenly to himself
as he gasped for breath. His earlier anxiety and unease had returned 
once more, threatening his very sanity.     




***

  


To be Continued...


Next: Realization of Kurama's true nature.

A little extension on my usual sparse footnotes in Shonen 
(probably an influence of Rurouni Yahiko more than anything
else ^^;), so to the regular readers of Shonen, please bear 
with me. I would like to dedicate this chapter to Rose
Thorne. This noble soul's stand on homophobia was the 
foremost influence to the Yusuke-Kurama debate involving the
very same subject. So Rose Thorne, this chapter is for you.

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. 
But I must note that, due to the nature of this chapter, there is now
some undeniable and inevitable Shonen-Ai parts in the dream sequences. 
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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