YUME-MI

A fanfic by Jashi

Rated PG-13

Yahoo…it's the ninth chapter! Wow, this is my longest fanfic. Ittenshikai is only like five chapters…whoa. Oh yeah, if anybody likes this, go read Ittenshikai. My friend Ai and I are in it. Heh. But it's not your ordinary self-inclusion! Heh, ^_^ Okay, on with Yume-mi!

Oh yeah, NOTE: The POVs are bound to be confusing in this chapter, so be alert! (gomen ne…)

Chapter Nine…

(ano…I'm not really sure who's POV to put this in…er….okay!)

(Chichiri's POV)

God, why did I hear that in my head? I do not know, but as soon as Ayako walked into the fire I took off my mask.

And began to worry.

We cannot see Ayako, but I can feel her in there. Wait…I think…I can see her. I think…she is walking out.

Ayako has walked out of the fire.

Thank you…Suzaku.

(Ayako's POV (hehe, sorry) )

Oh god. I walked out. I made it. I made it.

I.

Made.

It.

I have never been so truly happy. But, the second I step out, I manage to make it one step before I fall. My legs give way and I have never felt so weak in my entire life. I also feel different. And I'm in a lot of pain.

Taiitsukun smiles.

"Ah, my child. You passed. Very good." she says, grins.

It is then I lose consciousness.

Some time later…

I-itai. I awaken, and my head hurts. And so does my back. And every other thing that could possibly.

Including my brain and mind and heart and emotions. And every other thing that could possibly.

God… Is this what they call a flashback? I now remember every single little insignificant detail of…it.

That cursed Test.

I shake. I want to cry. But I'm not going to. I want to scream out in the suffering of this hell that has been pushed upon me. So I scream in my head. As loud and as hard as I can. I grip the sheets and suddenly cry out in pain. I unclench my hands to see a multitude of bandages around my right hand. There are only a few bandages around my left…how odd. The knife came out of my right hand. That's why it hurts like a b*tch.

And my mind feels so slow…

And now my hand is bleeding. Itai, itai, itai. Gods, where are Nyan-Nyans when you actually need them? I stand, and it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I'm clothed…in total black. It's like someone died while I was asleep. Maybe I died.

Maybe I'm really not here…

But then why do my hands hurt so badly?

That must mean I am living. I open the door, and walk out into Taiitsukun's domain. I don't know my way…so I'll just blindly walk around, until I find someone, I guess.

I don't feel correct. My bones…they feel strange. And so does my mind and my thoughts. Gods.

I walk through, until I come upon a room. I open the door.

Chichiri, Tasuki, Tamahome, and Taiitsukun are there and they gasp. And suddenly, I realize what's wrong.

Tasuki, Tamahome, and Chichiri are much shorter than they were.

"Che! Who the hell are you?!" demands my red-haired friend.

"What? Tasuki, don't you recognize me?!" I say, my heart rising to my throat. Tamahome stares. Chichiri quickly takes off his mask and looks at me oddly.

"No, obviously! Who the f*ck are you?" he yells. I stare, and I realize it might be true…

…that I did die. But I can't have! I didn't break for Nijiko! I LIVED.

"Tasuki no da. Are you really that daft?" Chichiri chuckles and gently hits him over the head.

"It's Ayako."

Tasuki blinks, and I sigh.

"Whoops. I didn't f*cking recognize you with the white hair."

My heart stops.

"WHAT?!" I screech, and Taiitsukun, laughing, shows me a mirror.

My hair is white. Pure snow, icy cold white.

It's scary.

I look as though I turned a thousand years old over night. And the men with me are all so much shorter! I'm not really as tall as any of them yet…but Chichiri's only about a half inch taller than I. Which means…I grew roughly three inches. And damn, my hand hurts! A Nyan-Nyan bounces out of nowhere.

"Fix fix cure cure Ayako!" she and ten others say together.

"Can you fix my hand, please?" I say, and hold it out. The Nyan-nyan shrink back.

"Nyan-nyan no fix curse-wound! Nyan-nyan no fix!" she/they say. They/she bounce away then, like a rabbit running from a stronger, meaner, hungry fox. Taiitsukun sighs.

"That is from Naifu no Akuma, true? It must heal naturally with no magic. Or else…"

The space is unforgiving.

And I wonder…

If I will ever be forgiven…for everything I have done?

^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^%

Okies…a bit short, but "jimmy crack corn and I don't care, jimmy crack corn, and I don't care"

THANK YOU to all of you who gave me reviews for chapter 8...*cries* thank you, thank you, thank you.

Ayako: So…she actually updated within… a week or two? I think it will be a while before she updates again. Because I am the Yume-Mi who knows All.

Jashi: L Shut up, Ayako.

Ayako: Do not deny the truth, grasshopper.

Jashi: *throws mallet at Ayako*