Disclaimer:I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of it's characters.
"Alice."
It took me a moment to notice that my dream had ended and my brother was no longer calling my name. Instead, it was Kurama, crouched over me and trying to pry my hands from my face. Instantly, as this realization dawned on me, I tasted the blood in my mouth.
"There you go," He whispered as I swallowed the liquid hard and brought my clawing hands to a stand-still. "I could smell the blood," He revealed to me. He reached out and grabbed my hands, rubbing the caked blood and smiling a little.
"What were you dreaming?" He asked, not necessarily for an answer but in a thought out loud. I shook my head, swallowing again. Blood tasted like metal, a horrible taste that so often I was privleged to have.
"Don't worry," He whispered, placing my hands on my stomach as I laid below his sitting postion. The room was still dark, and his face was warm. He had that smile, sweet like honey and his eyes shone. I knew that he felt like I did, he must have! His skin was soft as he held my hands still, and I took a leap of faith. I grasped his hand. Not like he had, a way of helping, but I grasped it posessively. A look of shock played on his brow. I knew I was turning red, but the shadow of the room hid mthe blush and only allowed us to see the beauty in each other. He grasped my hand in return.
"Ok," He whispered, and climbed over me. If I had been him, I would have crashed over the form below me. But he glided over my body and came to a laying position beside me. He pulled me close with my hands.
"Go back to sleep," He commanded, and gave my hand a squeeze.
"I'm here. Try to dream good dreams. I'm here..."
XXX
That next morning, I woke against Kurama's chest.
"Hey there," He said, sleep still on his voice. He looked beautiful even in the morning, a picture of almost perfect.
I pulled myself closer to him.
"Alice, it's almost ten. You hungry?"
I shrugged against him, bringing a hand up to my mouth.
"Oh," He said, and I could hear the embarassment. "I forgot."
That wasn't like him. Well, the him that I knew. I was glad his eyes still remained closed, but wondered how he had possibly forgotten.
"I just, Alice, I didn't mean it." He said, and I shook my head vigerously.
I wished I could tell him that it was okay.
He began to get up, slowly and carefully untangeling himself from our sweet sleep. I reached a hand towards him.
"Come on," He said, smiling. I didn't want to get up! I pleaded with him with my eyes, begging him to stay. I pulled myself close to him again. He looked at me, and his eyes flashed a bit yellow.
"Fine," he said, in a voice more husky then I had heard before. "I will."
He layed back down and cuddled me against him.
"Alice," He said after a few moments. I looked up at him.
"What does your voice sound like?" He asked.
Nobody had ever asked me that before. I ran my tongue over my teeth and felt the wires intruding into my mouth. I thought about the question, and tried to picture my voice beyond my thoughts. I honestly couldn't remember. I shook my head and he looked at me, sadly. Th expression in his face told me that he understood.
"I am going to hear it one day." He told me, forcefully, but not angrilly. "And when I do, It's going to be because you've healed. I promise you that."
I knew that he had hope, but my mouth would never be the same.
XXX
We stayed in bed until that afternoon, holding onto eachother as he told me things about his past. I didn't fully understand, but didn't think it was necessary that I did. I admit, being with him like this, was strange. But, it felt right. He wasn't pushing me to do anything. He wasn't gaining anything or decieving me. He had come to me when the night was eating me, dreams so forcefully causing pain. A thought still lasted though, if he hadn't come to help, would I have managed to really hurt myself? Choked on the blood? I was thankful for him.
KURAMA'S POV
After I realized it was Alice that was emitting so much pain that night, I did something not quite expected. I suppose Youko might have been to blame. But all the same, I climbed into bed with the venerable girl, and she allowed me to. She stayed close to me, not once letting me go. As we lay there, I felt sleep kiss me and dreams overtook me. I dreamed about her. But there was a difference; She no longer held the wires caging her mouth. She was smiling, her red hair falling around her face and her blue eyes glistening. I saw her like this, and she spoke to me.
"Let's go!" She called, in a sing-song voice that made me remember the circles she spun in. "Come on Kurama!" She danced about the room we were in in this amazing dream. Something was exciting her, something that had me excited, also.
I followed her out a door, and into a yard. It had flashing lights, and screaming voices.
"Alice!" A terrible voice screamed, and she stopped dead in her tracks, smile dissapearing. A man appeared before us, pale with long black hair and dying eyes. He was handcuffed, and being led by police to a car. She stared at him, and I wanted to help her, but at that point the dream ended, because she moved against my chest.
"Hey there," I said, sleepily. I hadn't slept so well in a long time. She looked at me then drew herself closer to me. Without thinking, I said, "Alice, it's almost ten. You hungry?"
She touched her lips and shrugged. I could have hit myself.
"Oh," I said, embarassed, "I forgot."
She seemed to be examining me, trying to figure out what I'd done wrong to say those things.
"I just, Alice, I didn't mean it." I said, trying to make up for what I said. That dream just had me lost. Not confused, but the picture of it. I wanted it so bad to be true. I wanted to hear her voice, I wanted to see her happy. I would help her. I would help her to speak again.
I would help her to be happy.
ALICE'S POV
When we decided to venture out to where the others were, the silence that came over them was astounding.
They knew.
"Hey there!" Yusuke chided as we both sat down. His goofy smile was getting under my skin as he began a conversation.
"So, you two had a night, together?" He asked, smiling a horrible smile. I blushed, and I heard Kurama shuffle his feet.
"Haha!" He laughed, "I knew it!"
I figured that they all did. They all knew it.
"So, did you Kurama?" He asked my innocent bed mate.
Kurama shook his head.
"A nightmare," He said simply, then added, "She had a nightmare."
Yusuke's smile faded a tad, then the conversation was turned away from me.
"Fox," I heard a voice say, and Kurama stood up and left. He ventured into the kitchen, and I followed, quietly. Yusuke took notice, but turned his attention as he attacked Kuwabara with a fork.
"Stop it!" I heard the orange haired teen yell as I exited the room. Entering the Kitchen I ventured into a conversation.
"He is looking for her," I heard Hiei say, though his mouth barely made motion.
Kurama looked at the ground.
"Well, we will have to be careful then." He replied to the short man.
"Hn," Hiei said and motioned to me with his head. Kurama turned around and smiled.
I tilted my head.
"It's nothing, Alice," Kurama whispered, embracing me.
"Just stay here, ok? We expected this."
I understood what he meant. They we talking about my brother. He was looking for me.
"We wont let him hurt you."
I felt safe as Kurama held me, and kept reassuring me. But when I looked Hiei's way, I saw something I didn't expect. Instead of the stoic look he held during training and during the conversation that I had just witnessed, there was a look of anger on his face.
I didn't know who it was meant for. My most educated guess was that the look was for my brother. But a thought, a tiny, barely-there thought, told me otherwise. Could the look be for Kurama?
Well, next Chapter up soon! Review please!
~May
