Right now, this very moment, climbing abilities are the top of the top. My eyes lit up at spotting a loose screw and my small fingers wiggled in and got a grip. Yes. Score. While my balance was always something I could list up high on advantages, climbing was just something you did, everyone did as a kid. Level of difficulty varied, sure, but on the playground, every kid climbed as high as they could at some point.

This was a little different than the playground.

I shifted my toes and glanced down a moment to make sure the thin strip of wood I'd found was still holding. The faraway ground was a blur in the distance, not the focus of my current mindset. I muttered to myself to keep focus, talking to myself over what I was doing to keep it, highly intermixed with my worry and unease and complete anxiety on what exactly was going on inside.

Digging and poking around the first level did no good except for all the grime and dirt, the reddening of my fingers and fists. Of course no one answered the locked front door. With the blank papers attached and forgotten about. That really helped keep my panic abay. Sarcasm. Something someone claimed I did every time I kept my cool and politeness when answering them.

I snorted, then caught myself before I gave the 'Ha' to go with it. Taking a calming breath, I settled the negative feelings and memories seeping through in refreshing myself with our mom, me and Yuu's mom saying goodbye earlier tonight—or last night—after she made a nice meal for us to share together before she left for work. And my focus of this late night venture swam back to the forefront of my mind.

Yuu.

I yanked at the corner. Wooden splinters pricked at my skin. But it gave enough to fill me with renewed strength. I scrambled up and centered myself before wrenching it open with an ear splitting crack. I giggled to myself, high on the reward and recalling my youngest brother falling straight through a hole to the basement due to not listening to anyone about jumping—repeatedly, I might add—on the flimsy wooden board that covered it.

Oh yeah, climbing abilities are top of the top.

I paused.

There's a pun in there somewhere.

Shrugging it off, I shifted around the opening, now hanging outwards, more focused on getting inside to Yuu rather than paying too much mind to the drop. Blank pieces of paper could just mean game over, but I'd been jarred awake in a very real pain. Hunching over on myself and a dream I remembered. An uncommon occurrence, but my remembered dreams stood out as though they competed with a bulk of others. This dream was no different. It was a nightmare.

Sharp features thrown into mostly shadow, sparks of light glinting from calculating eyes, faint energy humming as the figure towered over Yuu frozen stiff on the floor. My older brother's features were cast in a pastel dim of death encroaching. And there floated between, a glowing orb of light just beyond his outstretched rigid arm and within the grasp of the pliable fingers shifting thoughtfully above. Closing the gap.

A nightmare of disturbing realness when I found Yuu missing from our apartment.

Gripping the top of the swinging back-and-forth window shutter, I eased myself around the edge, hurrying to get to the opening and the promise of Yuu inside.

"I swore I hea—It's a little girl!"

Shrieking, I leapt away from the great shadowy thing popping up from inside the world's possibly most grotesque horror film and funhouse carnival mashup of a house.

Twin screams echoed through the darkness.

A huge palm shot forward, fisting about my coat, and yanked.

Stunned, I blinked blearily. A few miscellaneous items toppled over me. Nudging them off of me, I pushed myself up with my arm. Or I tried to. The wall got in the way. Slowly, I realized what had just happened. Straining and displaying muscles well earned, an arm had pulled me inside the creepy building with more than enough strength. I'd flown and tumbled across the floor.

I pushed against the wall and stood up.

Alive.

I didn't fall.

I'm inside.

Inside.

Inside!

Quickly getting over being momentarily stunned from tumbling across the floor, I spun to look for a door. Gathering up enough air to bellow, I jerked to a sudden stop before I could call out to Yuu, a great coughing fit burning through me. I gulped for air.

Tall for a young man, he looked gangly and awkward standing in just his underclothes, this stranger who'd pulled me inside.

Kuwabara. The name swam forward, in awe.

I'd never met him.

My favorite anime character of all time.

I cosplayed him.

A heart of gold. Like my brother Yuu.

Shaking my head to give it clarity, I stared, taking in his features.

He goggled back, hand half raised in uncertainty of assisting in my earlier coughing fit. "Er…" Seeming to get his wits gathered back up before I did, he drew himself up…and began to lecture me.

My favorite anime character real and scolding me like a little child?

This moment was super embarrassing. And thoroughly captivating to watch.

See, I've managed to impress people around me with how I easily treated 'famous people' like anyone else, because, honestly, they are. Kept my usual calm even about my favorite voice actor. Managed to annoy any guest handler if a certain voice actor spotted me nearby—he'd be guaranteed late to his next panel with us catching up with the other. With a wide grin and eyes lighting up, he would surge through a crowd to greet me with a large hug. Even with a cosplay on, he recognized my voice through the masses. And with spotting me in a certain cosplay once, he drew up and proudly declared his name was now officially attached with YuYu Hakusho.

The fact I'd gotten close to a voice actor for this to happen, caused eyes to go wide around me. So my moment of hacking and coughing in shock at the sight of my favorite anime character that I'd gone to the lengths to cosplay and had been called by his name at local anime conventions, even when not dressed up as such...that was super embarrassing.

I'll pick that though.

Embarrassment is the far better option for a result of shock.

Swing, swing, swing. I pumped my legs, humming to myself. Words drifted to me and I sat still in the moving motion. "My heart is crushed duh dah dumdah du~um."

The song hovered there, repeating the tiny portion of a chorus, drilling my actions and feelings of the now. I shook my head harshly and hopped off the swings. I didn't want upbeat songs popping into my head. I didn't want to be reminded of why I knew songs like that in another language. Not right now.

I drew in a breath and belted out the first song I thought of in an attempt to get the lyrics and language off my mind. "There's nothing to worry about." Lies. Swallowing, I drew in a larger breath. "There will surely come a day when your love reaches someone!"

Drawing in my fists tight, I scrunched up my face and bellowed out the next lines in punches.

"No matter how hard it is!"

Left foot stomp.

"No matter how much you want to give up!"

Right foot. Stand tall.

"Don't ever stop believing!"

In realization of the chorus, I hesitated at the English. "Carry on, carry out." And my voice trailed off as I miserably mumbled out, "Even if you get a little tired of hurting someone and getting hurt."

Yuu. I did that. Hurt him. He'd been unable to voice what he believed to have done. It wasn't difficult to see the toll it took and would continue taking on him after his falling apart last night.

With a wet draw of air, Yuu had rolled his shoulders back and gazed at me steadily, his puffed eyes the only sign of his breakdown in front of me. Yuu thanked me for telling him what was going on with me, his eyes earnest, and lay a large warm palm on my forearm. Anything inside of me that had regretted the decision ebbed away as my whole body relaxed at his sincerity, comforting touch, and the reassuring words which followed.

Now I know and can look into it. We will get through this.

He'd left soon after with Yana and Asato. Off to their scheduled appointment with Master Genkai. She could possibly offer some speculations over my situation, which rang an echoing truth from the recesses of my mind. I'd been on the edges of sleep by the time Yuu returned. With a faint chuckle escaping him, he'd ruffled my head and told me to go to sleep. The hazy memory of a promise of talking later was the last thing I remember.

But all that Yuu had done today was focus on paperwork. Writing, drawing, crossing off, crumbling, starting all over. The intensity of it reminded me back to several months ago when he'd gone on a huge video game kick all weekend long. Disappeared to the librarian's apartment just down the block, coming back late Saturday night to sleep and to make sure I'd been eating my meals. I'd gone with when he headed off on Sunday as well. It'd been the same week of his first time not at the top of his class, the same week an essay he wrote to be published had been turned away, the same week he'd been attacked in an attempted mugging. He'd only been slightly thankful at the fact he doesn't keep his yen in his wallet.

His actions of today, before I headed out to the park for the usual monthly park day, trying to pretend everything was normal to not worry the rest and attempt at some lighthearted fun, well, his actions made sense. Yuu tends to streamline his focus on something else within his control when he's stressed. Enjoys it in a way I think.

"Well don't stop singing on my account, dummy."

I spun, startled at the voice. Standing on the swing I'd abandoned was Tsukihito. It was a little late to take up Aoi's offer. Everyone else was gone. Baffled at his appearance, I stared.

"See? Dummy. Ha." With a jerk of his arms, the swing moved in a small haphazard motion rather than smoothly. He grinned at me though. "You should see your face right now."

And stared for too long apparently and according to him.

"Aren't'cha gunna be all try to make friendly chitchat like ya've been doing all week? Well it ain't gunna work."

"Huh?"

"You're just playing nice to figure out what world changing thing your big dummy brother turned down and I"—he stressed the word proudly—"got."

I blinked at him. "No," I answered simply.

That hadn't been the reason at all. I'd just begun noticing more and more how withdrawn he was from anybody else. His lashing out and muttered insults were more loneliness than real anger, because it all seemed aimed at seeing happy groups of friends. I never really forgot what he had said, it niggled intermittently in the back of my head since he'd mentioned it. Yet sadness at a boy believing the world was full of idiots with this odd mixture of hope and hopelessness sparking through the angry jealously front…it felt more important.

Tsukihito stared for too long this time. "I just thought it'd be nice to say hello to you. That's all," I answered frankly.

The boy kept staring, eyes widening, mouth hovering open for a long moment. Then he snorted and snapped. "Proof you are just a dummy and a silly little munchkin." But he didn't follow it up with anything to explain why. Instead, he cleared his throat and glanced down as he hopped off the swing. Paper crinkled when he shoved his hands into his pockets.

I stared up at him as he walked toward me, curious at the curious expression on his face. "Were you supposed to move or something?"

"No. Not that I know of. Why?"

Tsukihito thrust a thick piece of paper at me, staring. "Here. For you. I don't get it. What's so special about a pair of dummies?"

Confused, I turned the folded and slightly crumpled paper in my small hands. It'd been clearly ripped out of a book. Tsukihito pressed close, clearly wanting to see what it was, which surprised me. It was only a folded bit of paper. He could have looked at this clearly passed on message anytime he wanted. This was a message sent from someone he respected, a warning rang inside of me. I didn't make a move away from him though. If he was told not to look by someone who caused such a feeling to run through me, then looking at this could only be good for him. Even if it sent apprehension through me.

I opened it. And it took me a while to realize what I was looking at.

Kaito Rin. Born of Yoshida Akio and Kaito Tomoko.
Sibling to Kaito (formerly Yoshida) Yuu and—

There was a thick series of lines covering the rest, scrawled largely across the paper overtop the neat tiny writing. I squinted to make out some of the rest. My exact birthday was difficult to read. But there were notes on my mischievous personality, penchant for climbing and physical something, open friendliness and optimism, adoration to Yuu, remarks to…home life I think. It was a rundown on all major points of me.

The thicker mark over the top of the neat textbook writing, permanent marker it looked like, smudged slightly with the section it circled on the bottom.

Tsukihito gasped from behind me.

"Woah. Amazing," he said breathlessly. "But come on. What is really what is so special about a dummy anyway?"

I stared, comprehension slowly coming over me.

Within the circle was my date of death, for Monday, not tomorrow Monday, but last Monday.

Within the circle was the cause of my death. An accident. That removed my soul and cracked my skull. Despite being returned to body, I was lethargic when awake, and the marring my soul obtained led to my passing 39 hours later.

And within the circle was who was to be sent for the collection of my soul, Sayaka. A side note informing them I would be reluctant to leave the person who caused my death. Yuu.

Not true, not true, not true. This never happened. I was fine. Alive. This had to be the worst joke, like teenagers who thought they were funny when writing out disturbingly elaborate things in a Death Note. Why would someone ever be this mean?

But then there was the phrase 'You're welcome' written overtop of most the paper. Underneath the portion that had been circled was a signature. 'Sensui'.

Everything inside of me screamed. Terrified. A horrible feeling washing over me in several, many, infinite waves.

"No." A single word of defiance, disbelief, and denial against everything about it.

"You haven't even had a chance to meet him," Tsukihito argued. His whole face lit up. "Trust me, he's the coolest adult there is."

He continued rambling on about Sensui's greatness. I stopped listening, trying to wrap my mind around what had just been handed to me. Yuu. Accident. Sensui. The hole. Yuu. His taboo territory. Sensui. The seven. Sensui's Seven. Yuu. Turning such a great offer down. Sensui. Yuu. Oh god Yuu. I was supposed to be... I couldn't tell him that! Yuu would be... Oh god.

Mentioned
Ai Wa Katsu (Love Will Win) by Kan, released in 1990 - English lyrics as found via Internet
Swing Swing by All American Rejects, released in 2002
Death Note first came out in 2003 (manga)