Hello, everyone! This is a new and...different...type of story I want to try writing. Unlike my other AUs, this is going to happen right in the original YYH realm, maybe a few years AFTER the series finale. So, the cast is just a bit older, BUT, they're still close friends. (Of course, if you go through quite a few life-or-death situations, I imagine you would be. Haha!) Anyways, sorry for the rambles, but it's almost 4am, and I'm about to head to sleep. But, please! Feel free to give me your complete and honest opinions! No Flames, if you please. This is going to be a work in progress, just to see if I can actually write something like this... A challenge, of sorts. Feel free to send me a message or two telling me your views or suggestions, all right?
Disclaimer:I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, any of its characters, or the rights.
Kuwabara awoke with a start, panting heavily as his blankets were flung from his sweat covered body in a panic. His beady eyes were smaller than normal, a crazed and desperate expression pervading his normally cocky demeanor. As his breathing began returning to normal, he clenched his teeth, staring down at his hands. Seeing them trembling, he growled softly, clenching his fists tightly. Raising his clenched left fist, he placed it gently against his forehead, his shoulders quivering ever so slightly. As the small clock on his nightstand ticked the minutes by, Kuwabara finally managed to calm himself, ceasing all trembling. The sweat that had covered his body had long since cooled, and now brought on a strange chill. Silently, he roughly snatched his blanket off the floor, felt a brief moment of panic as he thought he saw a dark puddle on the carpet, before he settled back once more into his comfortable bed. Unfortunately, he would spend the next few hours before the break of dawn tossing and turning in his bed, unable to return to sleep.
"I had that dream again."
Seated at a diner opposite his friend, Kuwabara sat tensely, erect in the cushioned bench seat, staring at the food before him. His friend, the ever wise Kurama, sat opposite him, having been enjoying his time with his old friend and comrade. Hearing the unusually silent Kuwabara suddenly speak, he raised his head, his emerald eyes narrowing slightly. Brushing a lock of flaming crimson hair to the side, he studied his human friend, seeing the inner turmoil and discomfort that riddled his friend's face. This was not the first time his friend had mentioned this strange dream. It was not often, but whenever it did happen to come around, Kuwabara tended to act strange for a while until the overall feeling of emptiness subsided. It was rather curious, however, that whenever Kuwabara tended to have these strange dreams, that something terrible happened shortly afterwards. This train of thought did not escape the fox, but, knowing his friend and how strict his code was, he tucked the thought away. Perhaps it was merely a coincidence… Or perhaps, it truly was something more… Despite his suspicions, as well as the immense worry he felt for his friend, Kurama felt happy to oblige in helping him. He leaned forward slightly, gently placing the fork he had been using neatly back down on the napkin that sat precisely next to his plate before lacing his fingers together.
"Was it the same?" He watched silently and unflinchingly as his friend slowly looked up from his cold food and directly into his eyes. There seemed to be no life, no will to live behind them. They were hollow, devoid of all emotion. How strange. He continued, calmly, never letting his emotions or suspicions ever show. "Was it any different from the norm? Or, did something different happen this time?"
Kuwabara stared blankly at him for a few moments, before slowly looking back down at his plate. After a few moments of silence between the two, the tallest of the two let out a long and almost hollow sounding sigh.
"It…it was the same…" He paused, his hands beginning to slowly tremble again. He grit his teeth, noticing that he was once more trembling at merely remembering. He shut his eyes tightly, not daring to look at his friend. "It…It's always the same…" Placing his elbows on the table on either side of his plate, he clutched his head tightly, his fingers trailing through his thick red-orange pompadour. Opening his eyes, he glared intensely down at his plate, but by his expression, it was almost as if the plate weren't even there. "It was…the same… Screams… Blood curling screams… Crimson blood splattered all over the walls… Someone being beaten savagely by…something… Everything…all of these things…flashing by…in an image of black, white, and red… Lots of red…" his entire body was trembling now as he remembered the vivid flashes from his dream. "And that laugh… It was there, too… Cackling… It almost seemed as if it were…mocking me… It…seemed louder this time, though…" He glanced up briefly at his friend, before returning his gaze to the plate before him, once again seeing past the plate and further within the recesses of his mind. "What do you think it means, Kurama? What's happening to me?" He looked up, almost pleadingly at one of his closest friends. "Am I…going insane…?"
Listening closely to his friend, he nodded softly a few times as he heard the descriptions, attempting to imagine the scenes in his own mind. These he had heard before, it all seemed the same as usual. What did disturb him, however, was the fact that this time, there was indeed something different. The laughter was louder than normal… When at first Kuwabara had mentioned the dreams, he was more or less jovial about it. Laughing it off, saying he was merely having another strange dream where the spirits of those passed were bothering him once more. But, as the dream had begun to recur, the others had begun to grow concerned for their tall friend, especially because as the dreams continued, their friend seemed to be getting darker, more paranoid. It was hard to admit that such a strong willed, iron clad code warrior, who had battled within the Dark Tournament and the second Demon World Tournament could be broken down so easily by a few dreams.
The more one asked of the dreams, the more pain it seemed to cause Kuwabara. Albeit, it wouldn't be nice to remember scenes of gruesome deaths and people being beaten savagely occasionally, however, as Kurama had soon found out as he had questioned his friend, these deaths were definitely not normal. The ones that were being beaten were bludgeoned by strange objects, a few examples are a monkey wrench, a brick, a burning candle, and according to the Kuwabara, what appeared to be a metal chair. He was unsure how he was able to tell such details, but he claimed that it was just a feeling. He himself had passed it off as unimportant, suggesting that it was his heightened spirit awareness that was telling him this. However, Kurama couldn't help but feel a strange twisting in the pit of his stomach. Something was off.
Studying his friend, seeing the worry etched deep into his flesh, his body incredibly tense and obviously under great strain on remembering such terrible memories, he smiled softly, motioning slightly towards him.
"You are perfectly sane, Kuwabara. There is no reason for you not to be."
"But..Kurama…" Kuwabara trailed off, clutching his head tighter, his desperation growing.
"Kuwabara." Kurama spoke firmly, causing his comrade to look up at him. "You are fine. However, there is something I would like you to do. I believe it would help you greatly, as well as help us figure out what is truly going on." Seeing the slightly confused look shadow the young man's face, but also noticing that the life that had been lacking within his friend's narrow gray eyes had returned, practically begging for assistance, willing to do anything for answers, Kurama felt instinctively that his friend would listen. Lowering his arms so that they rested parallel on the clean table between them, Kurama continued calmly. "I want you to keep a Dream Journal." Seeing his friend's blank and confused expression he continued. "It may seem strange. And from what we have experienced ourselves, the dreams are the same almost every time, correct?" Kuwabara nodded, to which he him self gave a single nod. "Then it should not be that hard. Try to remember what you dreamed, and when you awaken, write it down before you forget. Each time you write an entry, try to see if you can remember more each time."
"But… It doesn't happen all the time." Kuwabara responded quietly, the vibrant shine fading slightly.
Kurama reached across the table and placed a hand on his comrades shoulder, smiling still. "Kuwabara." His friend lifted his gaze once more, looking deep into the worried eyes of his friend. "We're going to help you; all of us, even Hiei."
"Cht, like I need help from that little runt. He can kiss my ass for all I care." Kuwabara retorted, his eyes narrowing slightly at the mentioning of their short demon friend.
Chuckling, happy to see his friend acting more normally, Kurama stood from his seat, placing the requisite amount of money for both of their meals, as well as a generous tip. "The meal is on me, my friend. And please, do as I suggest. We are all worried about you, and I believe this to be the best way to help. I will let the others know." He saw his friend nod, and smile, if not a bit more confidently. "Remember, do not force it to happen. Let it come to you."
Nodding, Kuwabara glanced up at his red-headed companion, the vigor back in his once pale complexion. He let out a heavy sigh of relief, his expression brightening. "Thanks, Kurama. I knew I could count on you."
Kurama nodded once more, and began his trek out. "A word of caution, Kuwabara. Results do not happen right away. Give it time, and it will come to you." The sliding doors opened, and closed swiftly behind the retreating form of the fox demon in disguise.
The once solemn young man sat still at the table, thinking of what had happened here today. He had to admit, he too was incredibly curious as to why this was happening, not to mention why it only seemed to be happening to him. Not that he wanted to shift the burden to another unfortunate soul, but because no one, not even his sister Shizuru was going through something like this. The only nightmares she had were of her dead 'love' Sakyo. His gaze focused once more, and smiled as his brain suddenly registered that there was food right there in front of him. Not caring if it was cold, he practically inhaled it down, placing an extra tip for the waitress on the table next to his friend's payment, and swiftly left the establishment.
Plopping down onto his bed, Kuwabara rummaged through the white paper bag that he had brought with him. Withdrawing its contents, it was soon evident that the white bag merely held a few simple things. A medium sized plain brown leather notebook with a small band that clasped two magnets together to keep it closed, three mechanical pencils that had different kitten heads at the top of each, and 2 white rectangular erasers. In his concentration, Kuwabara had stuck his tongue out of the left corner of his mouth, ripping open the container of the pencils and grabbing the calico colored kitten pencil. Pressing the top, getting enough lead out at the bottom, he began to write.
I'm Kazuma Kuwabara, and I've been having these strange dreams lately... Kurama says that I should write them down, so that everyone could help me figure them out. I hope they're right, and I hope… I hope this works. All right guys…this is to hoping this works! Something tells me this is going to be harder than it seems.
Hoping for the best!
Kazuma Kuwabara
Re-reading what he had written, he nodded, putting his tongue back inside his mouth, and snapped the book closed. Yawning, he placed the notebook directly to his right, with the pencil and an eraser on top of it. Stretching, he yawned loudly once more before getting under the covers and turning over, falling into a peaceful sleep.
-And that is it for the first chapter. About half-way through, I started to force myself to stay awake, so if it is very repetitive with the names, I'm sorry... (It seemed so in my opinion, anyways...) I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, and are looking forward to the next! Just saying, if no one really seems that interested in it, I will stop this. Like I said, it's a work in progress, and I'm challenging myself. But, what's the point in challenging myself if no one's going to read it, right? Please review and tell me what you think! That way, I can help myself write better! ^-^ Good night! (Or morning!)