Okay. One review. And how long have I been idle? (Thanks to my becoming re-
addicted to FF8 and Irvine....^-^) Oh, who cares. I'm having fun anyway. But
I do like reviews!!!
"Setra? Oh, so glad you could come!" Shiori led Setra into the den, where I was sitting, rereading a book. I looked up as she came in, smiled and pointed at Koenma, who had put aside his pacifier for this occasion and was in his teen form.
"This is Koenma, Setra. He wasn't supposed to come over today, but he did," I said, glaring convincingly at Koenma, who shrugged.
"Nice to meet you, Setra!" Koenma said, jumping up and shaking her hand. "Sit down, won't you?"
Setra blinked at me over Koenma's shoulder, gave a mumbled thanks to Koenma, and sat down next to me. After only a few minutes of talking, Koenma got up and motioned for me to follow him out into the hall.
"It can't be her," Koenma whispered in my ear when they where out of her sight. "She's just a weird girl!"
There was a knock on the door; Shiori hurried to answer it and found Vance standing on the doorstep.
"Setra's here, right?" He asked, staring up at Shiori.
"Yes, do come in?!" She said, motioning him in. Vance stepped inside, rather reluctant and glared at me before heading for the den. Koenma and I poked our heads around the corner. Setra and Vance were talking in undertones; Vance apparently was trying to get her to leave.
"Oh, alright," Setra said with a sigh. "Sorry, Kurama, we gotta go." She took Vance's hand and lead the way out, thanking Shiori for letting her come over. Shiori nodded and smiled.
"Anytime!" She said; Setra gave a weak smile and left, walking fast.
"Hmm," Koenma frowned. "Now he acted like the demon we want. Exactly, actually. Well, I'd better go! See you later, Suuichi!"
I watched Koenma leave and went back up to my room, ready to flop down on my bed, but Hiei was occupying it again, glaring at the door. His gaze switched up to my face when I entered, though, and I knew almost instantly that something was wrong.
Hiei didn't look mad; he looked worried. "Kurama..." He started, but shook his head and jumped out the window.
"Hiei?!" I leaned out the open window and tried to see where Hiei had gone, but he had already disappeared. I now knew that something was big-time wrong; Hiei never called me by my name; to him it was always 'fox.'
I pulled my head back in and threw myself down on my bed, thinking. I knew that something was up with Setra; she wasn't human, I was sure of it. And Vance couldn't be human, not at all. And what was up with Hiei?
I wasn't quite sure when my jumbled thoughts turned into my jumbled dreams; I just knew that one moment I was worrying about Hiei and the next I wasn't worried at all; I was scared.
I was running down a garden path with a swing at the end, but the further and faster I ran, the farther away the swing got, its occupant, who was singing, apparently not noticing. I had the completely irrational and insane feeling that if I let the swing and its occupant out of my sight, they'd be gone forever, never to be seen again.
I called out the name of the person on the swing; they continued to swing, oblivious to the movement of their seat. The song drifted to my ears, and I redoubled my efforts, screaming for them to stop, come back to me.....
'Far away the sun is shining, River bright and grass so green, Home is where the heart is, True and true, it's been seen; People are most happy, Never ever blue, When they are at their house, Their home the heart has chosen true!'
"WAIT!" I screamed, and I found myself sitting up in bed, my hand stretched out for someone who wasn't even there, a cold sweat pouring down my face.
I slowly dropped my hand and grabbed my glass of water, drained half of it, and set it back down, wiping sweat off my forehead.
"What was that about?" Hiei's voice came from somewhere in the shadows of my room to my left. I turned my head, looking that way, and tried to see him; I could see Hiei's eyes, glaring at me through the shadows, but no more.
"Nothing," I lied, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.
"Like hell," Hiei snapped, stepping forward so that I could see half of his face. "You were calling out for that ningen girl."
I could feel myself blush furiously. "Was I?" Then that must have been who was on the swing; I hadn't been able to hear what name I was calling out for in my dream. I pushed my damp bangs off my forehead and checked the clock: 5:34 A.M. Well, I would be waking up in an hour, anyway.
I clicked on the lamp and light flooded the room, causing Hiei and I both to squint and blink rapidly. I slowly stood up, tired muscles and joints groaning at the hour, and stretched my arms over my head, yawning. Hiei watched me for a moment, frowning, before jumping out the window. Light from the streetlamps outside turned the curtains a drained orange. I had always hated that color; why did all the lamps have to be that way?
Grumbling, I dug through my dresser drawers, looking for something to wear. Finally, I settled on a simple white shirt and jeans, nothing special. For some reason, I didn't want to draw any attention to myself today, though I knew that would be next to impossible.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself sitting in the kitchen with no recollection as to how I had gotten there, gazing stupidly at the wall with my head in my hands and my mouth hanging open. I lifted my head off my hands, moved my neck to loosen a crick, and looked down at the paper I had before him. Hadn't I finished this? It was my math assignment. No, I'd been too busy, of course!
I returned to it and finished it quickly, my mind only half on it. The rest was thinking about my dream. Would Setra disappear if I took my eyes off her for just a second to turn around and see what else was going on? Or would she stay and wait for me to catch back up? I sighed, slammed my math book shut, and put it back in my bag, my paper still in it. Thirty more minutes to go and nothing to do!
I watched the second hand travel around the face of the clock in the kitchen for a while before I realized I wasn't in my kitchen anymore; I was standing in Setra's, but it was warped. The walls were bent and twisted, there were huge, gaping holes in the floor, and everything seemed to have been half-melted.
Vance appeared in the doorway. He looked up at the drip that was frozen, hanging from the melted doorway. It was an inch from his pointed nose and he grinned up at it.
"Strange, huh?" He asked, his voice echoing slightly. I felt myself nodding.
"Yeah," I said quietly, gazing around in a stunned way. "What happened here?"
Vance touched the frozen drip; it began to sag downwards, along with everything else. "Good-bye, Youko..." I heard Vance whisper before I began to scream, trying to catch onto something solid that didn't flow from under and between my fingers. I fell into black oblivion, still screaming, until I landed hard on the kitchen floor with Hiei slapping me across the face.
"Wake up, fox!" Hiei snapped, giving me a particularly hard slap. I managed to get a hold on myself (along with the front of Hiei's shirt) and leaned my head against Hiei's chest, glad it was solid, glad it didn't melt away into darkness.
"Alright," Hiei snapped, shoving me back, "What was the dream about this time? You just started screaming your head off..."
"I dreamed," I started, stopped and took a deep breath before beginning again, "I dreamed I was in Setra's kitchen, but it was melted...And Vance came in, and everything started to melt again...I fell through the floor and just keep falling....." I shuddered and rubbed my arms; was it always this cold in here?
Hiei watched my face, which went from fear to confusion.
"Hiei, what time is it?" I asked, turning to face Hiei, who laughed.
"Too late to go to school," He said, point at the clock, which said 9:53 AM. "You've missed the late bell."
I cursed and jumped to my feet. "Why didn't Mother wake me?!"
Hiei shrugged. "She's still asleep," he said, sitting down against the wall. He was being strangely nice....
"Hiei, is something wrong?" I asked, making Hiei scowl.
"No, for the last time, nothings wrong!" Hiei jumped up, frowning. "Now would you just leave me alone, fox?!" And for once, Hiei strode out the front door and slammed it hard enough to make a picture fall off the wall and shatter when it hit the floor. I stared at the photo through the glass, wondering what was wrong with Hiei for a moment before getting to my feet and following him out.
Of course, Hiei was nowhere in sight, but I wasn't worried about him; I wanted to see Setra. I started towards her house, taking my time, since she wouldn't be there. It took about ten minutes to get there; of course, the windows were black and the swing vacant, creaking in the slight breeze. I shivered and drew my coat closer around myself, wishing I had thought to wear something other than the thin coat I had.
I lowered myself onto the swing in a resigned way, waiting for 2:30 to roll around. I let the wind blow the swing around, thinking about what I had dreamed and trying to analyze it.
I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep until Setra's face swam into view in the darkness that had enveloped me.
"Kurama! Kurama, wake up!" Setra shook me very gently and my eyes snapped open, wide and afraid.
"Setra!" I grabbed her elbows, "Thank god! I had the weirdest dream!"
Setra chewed on her lower lip for a while before sighing. "C'mon, let's go in and have a cup of tea...That'll calm you down...."
"Setra? Oh, so glad you could come!" Shiori led Setra into the den, where I was sitting, rereading a book. I looked up as she came in, smiled and pointed at Koenma, who had put aside his pacifier for this occasion and was in his teen form.
"This is Koenma, Setra. He wasn't supposed to come over today, but he did," I said, glaring convincingly at Koenma, who shrugged.
"Nice to meet you, Setra!" Koenma said, jumping up and shaking her hand. "Sit down, won't you?"
Setra blinked at me over Koenma's shoulder, gave a mumbled thanks to Koenma, and sat down next to me. After only a few minutes of talking, Koenma got up and motioned for me to follow him out into the hall.
"It can't be her," Koenma whispered in my ear when they where out of her sight. "She's just a weird girl!"
There was a knock on the door; Shiori hurried to answer it and found Vance standing on the doorstep.
"Setra's here, right?" He asked, staring up at Shiori.
"Yes, do come in?!" She said, motioning him in. Vance stepped inside, rather reluctant and glared at me before heading for the den. Koenma and I poked our heads around the corner. Setra and Vance were talking in undertones; Vance apparently was trying to get her to leave.
"Oh, alright," Setra said with a sigh. "Sorry, Kurama, we gotta go." She took Vance's hand and lead the way out, thanking Shiori for letting her come over. Shiori nodded and smiled.
"Anytime!" She said; Setra gave a weak smile and left, walking fast.
"Hmm," Koenma frowned. "Now he acted like the demon we want. Exactly, actually. Well, I'd better go! See you later, Suuichi!"
I watched Koenma leave and went back up to my room, ready to flop down on my bed, but Hiei was occupying it again, glaring at the door. His gaze switched up to my face when I entered, though, and I knew almost instantly that something was wrong.
Hiei didn't look mad; he looked worried. "Kurama..." He started, but shook his head and jumped out the window.
"Hiei?!" I leaned out the open window and tried to see where Hiei had gone, but he had already disappeared. I now knew that something was big-time wrong; Hiei never called me by my name; to him it was always 'fox.'
I pulled my head back in and threw myself down on my bed, thinking. I knew that something was up with Setra; she wasn't human, I was sure of it. And Vance couldn't be human, not at all. And what was up with Hiei?
I wasn't quite sure when my jumbled thoughts turned into my jumbled dreams; I just knew that one moment I was worrying about Hiei and the next I wasn't worried at all; I was scared.
I was running down a garden path with a swing at the end, but the further and faster I ran, the farther away the swing got, its occupant, who was singing, apparently not noticing. I had the completely irrational and insane feeling that if I let the swing and its occupant out of my sight, they'd be gone forever, never to be seen again.
I called out the name of the person on the swing; they continued to swing, oblivious to the movement of their seat. The song drifted to my ears, and I redoubled my efforts, screaming for them to stop, come back to me.....
'Far away the sun is shining, River bright and grass so green, Home is where the heart is, True and true, it's been seen; People are most happy, Never ever blue, When they are at their house, Their home the heart has chosen true!'
"WAIT!" I screamed, and I found myself sitting up in bed, my hand stretched out for someone who wasn't even there, a cold sweat pouring down my face.
I slowly dropped my hand and grabbed my glass of water, drained half of it, and set it back down, wiping sweat off my forehead.
"What was that about?" Hiei's voice came from somewhere in the shadows of my room to my left. I turned my head, looking that way, and tried to see him; I could see Hiei's eyes, glaring at me through the shadows, but no more.
"Nothing," I lied, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.
"Like hell," Hiei snapped, stepping forward so that I could see half of his face. "You were calling out for that ningen girl."
I could feel myself blush furiously. "Was I?" Then that must have been who was on the swing; I hadn't been able to hear what name I was calling out for in my dream. I pushed my damp bangs off my forehead and checked the clock: 5:34 A.M. Well, I would be waking up in an hour, anyway.
I clicked on the lamp and light flooded the room, causing Hiei and I both to squint and blink rapidly. I slowly stood up, tired muscles and joints groaning at the hour, and stretched my arms over my head, yawning. Hiei watched me for a moment, frowning, before jumping out the window. Light from the streetlamps outside turned the curtains a drained orange. I had always hated that color; why did all the lamps have to be that way?
Grumbling, I dug through my dresser drawers, looking for something to wear. Finally, I settled on a simple white shirt and jeans, nothing special. For some reason, I didn't want to draw any attention to myself today, though I knew that would be next to impossible.
Thirty minutes later, I found myself sitting in the kitchen with no recollection as to how I had gotten there, gazing stupidly at the wall with my head in my hands and my mouth hanging open. I lifted my head off my hands, moved my neck to loosen a crick, and looked down at the paper I had before him. Hadn't I finished this? It was my math assignment. No, I'd been too busy, of course!
I returned to it and finished it quickly, my mind only half on it. The rest was thinking about my dream. Would Setra disappear if I took my eyes off her for just a second to turn around and see what else was going on? Or would she stay and wait for me to catch back up? I sighed, slammed my math book shut, and put it back in my bag, my paper still in it. Thirty more minutes to go and nothing to do!
I watched the second hand travel around the face of the clock in the kitchen for a while before I realized I wasn't in my kitchen anymore; I was standing in Setra's, but it was warped. The walls were bent and twisted, there were huge, gaping holes in the floor, and everything seemed to have been half-melted.
Vance appeared in the doorway. He looked up at the drip that was frozen, hanging from the melted doorway. It was an inch from his pointed nose and he grinned up at it.
"Strange, huh?" He asked, his voice echoing slightly. I felt myself nodding.
"Yeah," I said quietly, gazing around in a stunned way. "What happened here?"
Vance touched the frozen drip; it began to sag downwards, along with everything else. "Good-bye, Youko..." I heard Vance whisper before I began to scream, trying to catch onto something solid that didn't flow from under and between my fingers. I fell into black oblivion, still screaming, until I landed hard on the kitchen floor with Hiei slapping me across the face.
"Wake up, fox!" Hiei snapped, giving me a particularly hard slap. I managed to get a hold on myself (along with the front of Hiei's shirt) and leaned my head against Hiei's chest, glad it was solid, glad it didn't melt away into darkness.
"Alright," Hiei snapped, shoving me back, "What was the dream about this time? You just started screaming your head off..."
"I dreamed," I started, stopped and took a deep breath before beginning again, "I dreamed I was in Setra's kitchen, but it was melted...And Vance came in, and everything started to melt again...I fell through the floor and just keep falling....." I shuddered and rubbed my arms; was it always this cold in here?
Hiei watched my face, which went from fear to confusion.
"Hiei, what time is it?" I asked, turning to face Hiei, who laughed.
"Too late to go to school," He said, point at the clock, which said 9:53 AM. "You've missed the late bell."
I cursed and jumped to my feet. "Why didn't Mother wake me?!"
Hiei shrugged. "She's still asleep," he said, sitting down against the wall. He was being strangely nice....
"Hiei, is something wrong?" I asked, making Hiei scowl.
"No, for the last time, nothings wrong!" Hiei jumped up, frowning. "Now would you just leave me alone, fox?!" And for once, Hiei strode out the front door and slammed it hard enough to make a picture fall off the wall and shatter when it hit the floor. I stared at the photo through the glass, wondering what was wrong with Hiei for a moment before getting to my feet and following him out.
Of course, Hiei was nowhere in sight, but I wasn't worried about him; I wanted to see Setra. I started towards her house, taking my time, since she wouldn't be there. It took about ten minutes to get there; of course, the windows were black and the swing vacant, creaking in the slight breeze. I shivered and drew my coat closer around myself, wishing I had thought to wear something other than the thin coat I had.
I lowered myself onto the swing in a resigned way, waiting for 2:30 to roll around. I let the wind blow the swing around, thinking about what I had dreamed and trying to analyze it.
I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep until Setra's face swam into view in the darkness that had enveloped me.
"Kurama! Kurama, wake up!" Setra shook me very gently and my eyes snapped open, wide and afraid.
"Setra!" I grabbed her elbows, "Thank god! I had the weirdest dream!"
Setra chewed on her lower lip for a while before sighing. "C'mon, let's go in and have a cup of tea...That'll calm you down...."