Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Summary: Trying to forget his former life, Kurama decided to move into an old apartment to start a new one. Everything seemed perfect... except for the fact no one has lived there for more than fourteen days.

Fourteen Days

Chapter 3

Day 3

A loud ear-piercing shriek...

Blood-stained hands holding a sharp knife...

A loud thud as her body felled on the cold floor...

His mother's wide horror-filled eyes staring back at him.

Kurama's eyes shot open, alarmed. He swiftly lifted his body from the bed, heart beating loudly and fast in his chest. Emerald orbs stared at the wall, until a few moments later, he finally realized it was just a dream. It was all just a dream. A dream of the past. Kurama raked a trembling hand through his red strands, panting heavily and covered with sweat. He took a few deep, calming breaths until his heart finally and gradually slowed down. He glanced outside the window, and realized it was morning.

"What's wrong?" Botan's sleepy voice spoke from beside him, startling the redhead.

Kurama turned to look at her, a brief look of regret reflected in his eyes at the worried expression on his lover's features.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" he asked, instead of answering. He extended a hand to lightly brush his fingers against her smooth cheek, the girl nuzzling her nose into his palm, as if desiring more of his touch and his warmth. Nonetheless, her blue brows furrowed in what he could only assume as concern.

"What happened? You're all sweaty," she said quietly, and that was when she realized his hand was trembling. Her tender hand quickly reached to touch his, running soothing fingers along the back of his hand. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"I..." Kurama paused, wondering if he should tell her. He trusted Botan more than anything, but he didn't want to worry her over something so silly. "It's nothing," he finished, bluffing, and pulled his hand out of Botan's comforting grasp.

A sad smile crossed her face. "Liar," she said, voice firm yet gentle. "Please don't lie. I don't like it when you do that." Her smile faltered slightly; and her amethyst orbs seemed to water. "It makes me feel like you don't trust me. And that you're trying to carry all the burden to yourself. I... I don't want that." She looked down at her hands, trying to avoid his scrutinizing gaze, lest he figured out she was on the verge of crying. "I... I want to support you," Her voice cracked at the last sentence.

She didn't know why she was being so upsetting; it was probably nothing. Still, she could always tell when there was something wrong with him. She hated how he would always try to hide things from her: didn't he know that his sorrow was also hers? If he was sad, then she was sad.

"I'm sorry, love," Kurama told her in a soft voice, reaching to touch her hand and maneuvering his fingers to twine with hers. "I-I didn't mean to cause you any sorrow. It's just... it was a dream. A nightmare. I dreamt of that... that man..." His hand started to shake, and Botan quickly placed her free one on top of it, squeezing lightly, in hope to at least offer him some comfort. She succeeded, as she felt him relax.

Kurama inwardly sighed in relief over the fact that she was with him. "I-I dreamt of that horrible man... of his sin towards mother... I-I..." He stopped a moment to take a deep breath. "I-I keep repeating that moment when he s-stabbed her..."

"He is a brute! A bastard!" Botan hissed, surprising Kurama and even herself. "You shouldn't be thinking too much about him. You're stressed, that's why." She seemed to calm down a little. A loving smile curled at the corners of her lips, touching her eyes with a tint of warmth. "It's not your fault, it never is. Remember that," and with that, she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. Featherlike. Brief. Comforting.

Kurama couldn't help the contented sigh that escaped him; at least, he still had her. He nuzzled his nose into her palm, as in a token of gratitude. It would never be enough to show how thankful he was to have her as a girlfriend, he knew, but he loved the girlish giggle that erupted from her throat at the simple action.

"I'm going to take a shower," Botan informed him, breaking into a wide grin when he whined as she pulled her hand away. "Be a good boy, and wait for me, okay?" she joked playfully, touching his nose, which scrunched up childishly at the contact. Another giggle left her.

Emerald eyes eyed her as she stood up from the bed, sauntering for the door. Just as she opened it, she looked behind her shoulder, a mischievous grin spread on her charming features.

"Unless you want to join me?" she invited. Kurama shook his head, but laughed; it wouldn't be just a bath if he ended up taking it with her.

"Just kidding!" Botan chidishly told him, seeming to understand what he was thinking and jumping out the room. She started to close the door, not forgetting to send him a teasing wink. Kurama's soft chuckle followed her as she left.


Botan turned on the shower, a contented sigh leaving her lips as the hot water trickled down her bare body. She washed her face with it, giggling a little. Then, she reached a hand out for the soap, humming a tune of a song she had heard somewhere.

As she finished washing her body, the blue haired girl went for her hair. Botan's eyes darted around until she found what she was looking for; there, on the stool beside her, was Kurama's shampoo. Rose-scented. She always liked to borrow it, and he never favored to use other shampoos, both for the reasons that he knew she was fond of it, and that he rather enjoyed the sweet smell.

Botan squirted some of the contents out, a pink gooey liquid landing into the palm of her hand. She smiled, and started to wash her hair until foam started to form on her blue strands. She buried her head into the shower, trying to wash the shampoo off... but that was when she realized that the water was suddenly too hot.

A pained gasp escaped her, as she stumbled back, landing abruptly on the floor and knocking over the shampoo. It almost felt as if her skin was on fire the moment the water touched her. She was starting to panic: why did it suddenly become too hot? She didn't accidentally turn up the temperature, did she? She didn't think so.

Still, it couldn't be left just like that. Botan realized she had to turn the shower off. Gulping nervously, she slowly stood up from the floor, shrieking when she almost slipped but managed to catch her feet. She reached for the shower, with shaky hands, scared that the water might burn her skin. She was about to turn it off when...

The water suddenly changed; turning black, and slimy. Botan screamed loudly, staggering back until her back was pressed against the wall. She stared wide-eyed at it, flinching when some of the disgusting liquid almost came into contact with her toes. What was going on? What was happening?!

That was when a weird and abrupt noise interrupted her musings, causing her to look up. Her eyes widened in horror at what greeted her sight; there, on the ceiling, was a small girl. Her hair covered half of her face, but Botan could see her red, blood-shot eyes. Her head wasn't where it was supposed to be; it was placed behind her - at her back. Reversed.

A loud, blood curling scream sounded in the bathroom, which Botan was sure reached the whole apartment. She turned away from the horrific creature, putting her hands on the doorknob and trying to pry the door open. Still, it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she pushed or pulled. Boran was starting to panic, fear taking over her senses. Tears stung at the back of her eyes; distantly, she could hear the sound of bones cracking coming from behind her and did not dare to turn around.

"Kurama! Kurama!" she screamed bloody murder, slamming her fists on the door. Please, please...

She heard the sound of hurried footsteps outside the bathroom, as if someone was running. A rush of relief overcame her, as she realized that was Kurama. Botan backed away slightly when the door slammed open, Kurama rushing in, alarmed.

"Botan? W-what's wrong?" he inquired worriedly when he noticed she was crying. Botan didn't answer him at once, and quickly enveloped him in a tight embrace. She cried into his chest, loud sobbings escaping her.

"Love? Tell me what's the matter," Kurama spoke, voice soft as he draw soothing circles on Botan's back. The girl pulled away to point at the ceiling, but she didn't fix her gaze on whatever she was pointing at.

Kurama followed her finger, furrowing his brows when he saw nothing. "Botan, I don't see anything."

At his words, Botan swiftly fixated her eyes on where the little girl was supposed to be at. But true enough, there was nothing there. Only the ceiling. She stared at it in disbelieve: what? This can't be happening.

"Y-you have to believe me, Kurama!" Botan turned to her lover, voice shaky and desperate at the same time. "T-there was a little girl there... a-a little girl... her eyes were red... a-and her head was turned the other way... i-it was..."

Kurama cut her off. "Botan, dear, there's nothing there. See?" He pointed at the ceiling, Botan continued to stare at it with a confused and terrified look. The redhead grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to face him. His expression was serious as he said, "There's nothing there, Botan." His voice was firm, but it became gentle as the next sentence passed his lips, "You're going to be alright. You probably just imagined it."

Botan wanted to say how could she have imagined a spooky little girl, but decided not to. She wished she could believe that everything would be okay, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something horribly wrong with this place.

Or was it really just her imagination?

Really?