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I bolted upright in my bed.

Had that all been a nightmare? Had it been some freakish dream? I examined myself thoroughly... I was in my pajamas.... my own bed...my own room....

It couldn't have been real. I tried to convince myself of this, looking at the clock and noting that it was 3:00 in the morning. Plenty of time to have a bizarre nightmare.
It had been so strange, and I felt it all as if I were living it! I remember eating something strange.....a flash - kicking Hiei senseless....nearly drowning Kuwabara....trying to attack Kurama...
Then it all faded into black.

I remembered hearing an intoxicating voice, whispering to me over and over again from within my own mind. It had all been so frightening, but thank Yamma it was all over now...

I placed a sweaty palm on my forehead and inhaled deeply. Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I decided to get a glass of water.
When I was about to stand, I noticed a dark figure standing in the corner of my room. Red eyes flashed at me wearily. I blinked rapidly to determine what was there, and the dark room then seemed to brighten.

In the corner of my bedroom was Hiei. He was covered with bandages, and smelled heavily of sweat. There was dried blood at the corner of his mouth. The vision of him in this way frightened my badly, considering my nightmare. Yet I found that I was even more furious that he was in my room uninvited.

"Hiei?" He blinked at me wearily, not saying anything. "What are you doing in my room? What are you even doing in my apartment? Get out!" I pointed frantically at the door.

He did not budge, and I felt myself getting red with rage. I hopped off of my bed and stood in front of him, cornering him in. Of course, if he really wanted to, he could find a way to get around me. He was, after all, extremely crafty. As I huddled closer to him, I looked him in the eye. "." I screamed at him.

Suddenly, the door to my bedroom opened, and Kurama came in, flipping on the lights.

What the hell is this? Doesn't anyone have respect for privacy? Or the law? Breaking and entering is a crime! Even demons should have the common decency not to just waltz into someone's home whenever they feel like it.

I was about to yell at Kurama, too, but he spoke before I even had the chance to open my mouth.

"Ah, you're awake!" He smiled at me cheerfully. "It's about time. We were all wondering when you'd come to."
"Come to?" I was confused.
"Yes. I am sorry I had to knock you out, but you see we didn't really want to attack you...and you were trying to kill us...It was, really, our only option."
Knocked out? So then, it wasn't a dream! I dared to look at Hiei again, fully taking in the sight of him. He looked worse than I thought. He was completely covered in bruises as well as his own blood. And I had done it all to him? I congratulated myself on wiping the floor with him so thoroughly, but I couldn't help feel a twinge of guilt.

He turned his gaze away from me, looking off to the side.

"My wounds are of minor consequence," he said. "Yukina will aid me when she finishes healing Kuwabara. You merely attacked my already weakened body. I was knocked unconscious, far from dead. You nearly killed Kuwabara."

Relief and pain flooded through my body. I was so thrilled that I hadn't actually killed Kuwabara, yet so completely upset that I had injured him so badly. I kicked myself mentally. How could I have let this happen?

Last night had been a blur to me, and when I initially awoke, I had hoped it had all been a dream. Now I find out that it was real.
How could I have been so stupid as to eat the apple? How could I have been so weak-willed as to let another being take control of my body?
There was nothing I could do now about all that, but when we did go to defeat them, I'd be the first in line to kick their asses.

Kurama smiled sadly at me, as if reading my thoughts.

"Amaya, last night I merely knocked you unconscious. We did not rid you of the agent. It still courses through your veins even as we speak."
Nausea overcame me.
"But please, we are in the process of contacting Spirit World, and they are going to relay to us every single piece of information that they can, as well as how to subdue the effects."
"There's no way to get rid of it..." I whispered.
"Unfortunately, no. Spirit World uses it to keep control over their most fearsome and dangerous convicts. However, in light of the situation, they are working on finding a way to do so."
"So-"

"So if Nobuyuki wishes to call upon you to do his bidding you are, for the time being, susceptible to bend to his will."

I felt sick. Very sick. I didn't want to have to hurt my friends anymore! I'd almost killed Kuwabara, I'd tried to kill Kurama.....Hiei I wasn't really concerned about, he deserved it...

Kurama put a hand on my back, his best attempt to comfort me.

"Don't worry. Koenma will figure something out."

I eyed him warily, not sure how capable Koenma was of anything. I'd heard stories from Yusuke, not to mention a strange ogre who called himself George.... Koenma hardly took anything seriously, it seemed. Why would my case be any different. No one could say it was because the fate of the world was at steak, because in Yusuke's term as Spirit Detective, that has been the case an inconceivable amount of times. All the while, Koenma remained behind his desk, watching everything unfold on a screen.

I felt totally and completely doomed. Resigned, I slumped back down on my bed with a sigh, my head in my hands. I could do nothing more than hope for the best, and this frustrated me.

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