A/N:This is sort of a TsuzuHiso fic since I can't make a Mary Sue. But there is actually one character in the story I got from my previous fic, Peripheral. Don't worry, I kept the pairing a TsuzuHiso since I have another idea what to do with Akina. This one is like a combination of Forsaken and Peripheral (and yes, it might suck a lot more). But I'll warn you first: you don't have to read it if you don't want to. It's okay, I can't help it because of so many flames last time. It's just a slight shounen-ai, k? Hehehe...^_^

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Nightmare By: Mendori-chan

He ran across the forest, not knowing where to go. It was a windy night, and he found himself wearing the same kimono, running away from the cherryblossom tree...screaming and hurting all over...running away from a white devil.

He was scared; his emerald eyes grew out of fear and tears painuflly running down his cheeks.

He finally found a cliff, so deep and dark that he wanted to jump off it to finally end his life...but he trembled in fear. Memories from the awful incident that happened a while ago couldn't be erased from his mind. The way that bastard held him tightly, cutting his breath; almost dying in the arms of a white devil.

It was horrible; it wanted him to end his life than to suffer much more pain.

He cried at the edge of the cliff, muttering and praying he would be alright. His life was a big fat curse; nothing more but a condemned way of living. And to think, he was just a child; too young to suffer this much pain. He was an empath afterall, and he tried so hard to cover up all his emotions. But he was only human; he couldn't.

He heard someone laughing evilly from behind, drawing closer and closer. He tried to clasp his ears so he wouldn't hear it...but it was too near to ignore. He was sweating so badly, dying out of fear.

"Stop it! Stop it!" he screamed. But the sound of evil laughter became even louder, so agonizing and unbearable to listen to. His heart raced; he didn't want it to happen again.

"STOP IT!!!!"

"Hisoka!" exclaimed a familiar voice. Hisoka opened his eyes, panting, visibly crying and scared. Tsuzuki looked at his companion worriedly. "That was the third time this week," he said.

Hisoka couldn't take it anymore. He had three consecutive nightmares in a week of the same incident, knowing his memories would haunt him forever. It will always be there; it will always linger in the deep ends of his mind. But why couldn't he forget it?

Hisoka trembled uncontollably, tightly grasping himself for his own assurance that it was only a dream.

Tsuzuki stood up, wanting to comfort Hisoka but at the same time, knowing he couldn't do it by touching him. It will then only mean his feelings would interfere with Hisoka's, and it would only make it worse.

Tsuzuki took a glass of water and handed it to his friend.

"You should drink it," he said softly, not showing in his tone of voice that he was also afraid. "It was just a dream...and I'll always be here for you if ever someone tries to hurt you."

Hisoka felt his kindness fill his cold and forgotten heart. He was lucky enough to have Tsuzuki by his side each night, watching and protecting him whenever the dream would haunt him once again.

Hisoka's emerald eyes looked up at the clock. It read 2:34 AM. He couldn't go back to sleep anymore, not with that nightmare again. But he had to since they had a job to do tomorrow. 'Just rest,' he thought. 'Tsuzuki is there to comfort you...you'll wake up tomorrow knowing that it was just the same dream.'

'Just the same dream...'

Hisoka finally managed to slumber again in his most feared world: his own mind. He knew that when he died, he died trapped in his own self. But he had to fight it now that it was over. It was just a memory and nothing more.

And nothing more...

"Hisoka," a soft whisper was heard.

Hisoka opened his eyes and found himself back in the forest again. But this time, the sun was setting and the atmosphere was lonely...not frightening. He stood up and turned back to see a girl his age standing by the cherryblossom tree.

"Did you...call me?" he asked.

The girl opened her eyes. It was emerald green, just like Hisoka's. Her hair ran down her shoulders, light brown as the same as the Shinigami's.

"Do you remember me?" her voice echoed in the long-forgotten setting. She wore a white dress, long and pure that reflected the color of her eyes.

"N-No," replied the boy, obviously confused. But for some reason, he wasn't scared. In fact, he felt like he knew her... "Who are you?"

The girl smiled, walking closer to him. She was very familiar to him and her smile was so gentle. It was impossible for Hisoka to think that she could hurt him.

"Stop thinking of it," she said, her eyes now focused on the ground.

Hisoka blinked. What was she talking about? He listened carefully, watching her as if he knew her long, long ago...

"Stop thinking of our family," she continued. "If you hate them...if you despise them...then the memories will never go away."

"Our...family?" he repeated.

"Mother loves you...but she was just afraid that you might grow up and be considered a monster."

"She never loved me...never at all."

"It was because that was what you thought," she replied. "Even if you felt she hated you so much, then why did you think she let you grow?"

"It was just an excuse just for her own accomplishment...it never really mattered to me...it never really mattered to anyone that she was already beating me up, both inside and out."

The girl took a step closer. "Even if you are empathic, she just feared your being...that family was insane...our family was insane. They showed love by scaring and making us fear them."

The look in Hisoka's eyes showed curiousity. "Why are you suddenly saying this as if you're..."

He looked deeper into the eyes of the girl. They were just the same as his: scared, hurt and betrayed.

"You're my..."

"Onii-chan," she said. "I doubt you'll ever remember me well, but I am your sister--"

"Akina," he cut in. "How could I forget?"

She smiled once more. "I'll see you again, Nii-chan..."

With that, he woke up. Hisoka finally opened his eyes as the morning sun almost blinded him. It was 8 in the morning and he was already late for work. He felt his chest tighten...

His sister, Akina, died when they were 16, the same age when Hisoka died, too. They were born as twins, and the Kurosaki family thought that twins would only bring a curse to their family.

When Hisoka and Akina were 4, they were separated...and they never saw each other again. They were their only friends, twins that were born from the womb of a Kurosaki...empaths that were feared and locked away for half of their lives.

Hisoka learned that his sister died when they were 16 because he overheard his mother talking to his father one night.

"She just died out of fear," "No one was there to love her," "She was a monster!" "Just like her brother..."

Different insights were castigated on his sister, even if she was deceased already. That was so cruel and hurtful that Hisoka cried for her all night...he couldn't accept her death. And so, just like him, she was forgotten once again.

Hisoka turned to his side and saw a note Tsuzuki left on the chair:

I asked chief to excuse you for work. I know you have a lot to think about, so use this time today. Just don't go off hurting yourself anymore. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Tsuzuki

He sighed and got dressed. Hisoka went out of his apartment and decided to take a walk. He may never know if Akina was resting in peace right now or she roamed around as a Shinigami. Sometimes, he thought of her because they used to play with their empathic abilities. They used to think about something and say what was on the other's mind as fast as they could. The winner was the one who could guess it first.

Funny, though, that Hisoka was such a carefree child back then. He smiled more often, too, despite the abuse of his family. But during the first 4 years of his life, he was glad to share it with someone who could relate to him. He just wished that Akina shouldn't have died early or they weren't separated. Afterall, she was also an empath and passed a lot of hardships.

He was now glad that Akina came up to him just when he needed her the most. He knew that Akina grew up just like him: peripheral and insignificant to the others as if they had no feelings of their own. They were hurt and weren't loved...but that didn't stop them from growing. It was just that the world was too cold and time was too long that Akina couldn't take it anymore so she just let go.

She just set herself free...

But it was just a dream and he will never be sure that Akina may be still there, be it physically or spiritually.

He stopped on the sidewalk when he saw a girl sitting on the bench, resting under the shade...

"Akina..?" he whispered.

She looked up, her eyes reflecting the same way Akina's eyes did in his dream, and smiled.

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A/N: Okay, that wasn't exactly a cliff hanger. Please review and if I get at least 3 POSITIVE reviews, I will gladly continue this. *Sigh* I've got a lot to do, like continue my CCS fic. Anyway, flames are welcome. If you already hated my way of writing, it's ok. I already told you that I'm not forcing you to read. Hehehe...^_^ And who here can teach me to change my font into italic and/or bold? Please e-mail me. Arigatou!