Sekamu: okay, so it starts out sad, but it gets better! Promise!

Myst: by the way, the italics are from the dream journal. Last time you see it. The regular is the real world.

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The dreams about Tomoe have continued. I am thankful, almost, since she seems to make the assassinations much more bearable. Though I wonder sometimes how long this can last.

The Shinsengumi are becoming troublesome, though that should come as no surprise. We've recently been found—many of the central leaders have been killed, and Katsura-san is in hiding,as are Tomoe and I. We have a small house in the country, where we live as husband and wife. We sell medicine in town, and keep a garden as well. Everything is quiet, but I feel as though this peace will not- cannot- last.

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She's dead, and I've killed her.

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Kurama awoke from the mental forest crying. His pillowcase and pillow were already soaked. Pushing himself up, he realized that the liquid was too sticky to be anything but blood. He was bleeding again, Kurama realized, from the same place as usual, his left cheek. With a sigh, he got out of bed, removed the pillowcase and went to the bathroom in order to wipe the blood away and soak the bedding.

Standing in front of the mirror, Kurama noticed that, unlike the other times when there was only a vertical line of blood, this time, there was another line crossing it. Turning around, he wiped it off of his face with a towel that he had used for this purpose and hidden before. Kurama turned around again to fill the sink with water to wash away the blood—and saw that unlike similar incidents, this time you could see where the blood had come from. A cross-shaped scar was carved into his cheek. Oddly, it looked as if it was years old, though it had just appeared. A scar on my soul…

He clutched the sink, staring at the scar. This was the proof that these dreams weren't dreams. They had actually happened. But that still didn't answer any of the hundreds of questions that Kurama had left. Who had he been in these dreams? Why was he getting them? What had made them begin?

Kurama let go of the sink abruptly. The dreams… they had been affecting him in the real world as well. Not only the scar, but also the kendo. His eyes widened. The bet, the match—the person he was in the dreams wasn't a figment of his imagination, but an actual part of him.

Meaning…

Meaning these weren't dreams… they were memories.

Through personal experience, Kurama knew that one could be reborn. Was that what this was? Were these memories of a past life?

But who was I?

Attempting to put these thoughts aside for now, Kurama quickly rinsed the pillow case, and put a bandage over his left cheek to hide the scar. He carried the bedding, soaking wet, back to his room, where he hung it in his closet. Considering that he doubted he would go to sleep for the rest of the night, Kurama gathered that he wouldn't need it.

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The phantoms that haunt our minds at night never seem as bad in the morning, Kurama reflected, as he walked down the stairs. He was still extremely worried, of course, but he was able to put them aside well enough to think about other things.

"Good morning," he greeted his mother, passing by her on the way to his seat.

She nodded to him from her chair. "Good mor—Shuichi! What happened to your face?"

"I tripped last night getting a drink of water," Kurama lied glibly. "I cut my face by accident."

Shiori reached out to remove the bandage to see how bad the cut was, but Kurama stopped her. "I've already treated it."

She nodded. "What are you planning to do today?"

That's right, Kurama remembered suddenly. It was Saturday. "I'm going to meet up with some friends. We planned this a while ago, for this Saturday and the next," he told his mother, actually able to tell her the truth for once. The team had arranged to meet at Genkai's temple to help repair damage done to it. Even Hiei would be there, which was a surprise. Hiei didn't often show up for these little gatherings, but this time he had agreed to come.

Climbing up the steps to Genkai's temple, Kurama tried to figure out what he would say when the rest of the group noticed the bandage. Probably what he had told his mother. It was a workable story. He could say that he had slipped on a wet spot on the kitchen floor, grabbed a bowl that had broken and ended up accidentally cutting his face. That would work…

He reached the top of the stairs in time to hear Hiei comment to Yusuke, "So you got arrested for a bar fight again, detective?"

Again…?

"Yusuke…" Kurama said, in a slightly dangerous voice. "What does Hiei mean by 'again'?"

Yusuke stiffened as he realized that Kurama was behind him. And, as always, he opened his mouth… and immediately put his foot in it. "Do you mean the time you bailed me out about a month ago, or last week?"

"Yusuke!!" Kurama was more than a little annoyed. He glared at the detective. "Was when I bailed you out the first time you've been arrested, or not…?" The tone of his voice clearly implied that if it hadn't been the first time, there Would. Be. Pain.

Yusuke gulped, looking into Kurama's amber eyed glare. Wait… amber eyes? He decided he really reallyshouldn't comment on that at this point. And the way Kurama was looking at him implied that if Yusuke didn't tell the truth, Kurama would know.

"No, it would probably be about the fifth time."

Kurama shut his eyes and sighed. When they opened again, the Spirit Detective noticed they were green. "I suppose that I should expect that from you. But I'm not bailing you out again."

Yusuke nodded. "Okay!" He had the sense that somehow, he was very lucky to be alive…

At that moment, Genkai came out of her temple. "Is everyone here?"

"The idiot's not," Hiei stated, referring to Kuwabara.

Genkai snorted. "He probably forgot we were going to meet. He's worse than you, dimwit, and that's saying something."

Yusuke muttered something under his breath that sounded distinctly like "crotchety old hag." He promptly went flying down the stairs. There were two loud yells.

Two? Kurama wondered, walking to the top of the steps. Distantly, at the bottom of the steps, he saw a dust cloud. Meaning the second yell had probably come from Kuwabara… and the two were now fighting.

Kurama turned back around. "Yusuke and Kuwabara should be back up here in about fifteen minutes. Or longer, depending on how long the fight lasts."

Genkai rolled her eyes. "Of course." She looked back and forth between Hiei and Kurama. "Meanwhile, the two of you can start to work. Hiei, you work on the roof. Kurama, you work on making lunch." The two nodded, before Hiei leaped to a tree and to the roof, while Kurama headed straight to the kitchen.

He had always considered himself to be a fair cook, but today, working in the kitchen went easier than he had expected it would be. He smiled to himself as he heard Yusuke and Kuwabara arguing as usual. Genkai had set them with fixing the door, and apparently one (or probably both) had broken some of the materials.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a cat slinking by. It seemed to be watching the fish that Kurama was cutting up. He had plenty, so Kurama tossed a couple of the slices to the feline. As he did so, he had a sudden flash of standing in another kitchen and slicing another fish. He again noticed the cat, but instead of throwing it a few pieces, the cat stole the whole fish. Kurama quickly grabbed it, saying, "Oh no, you don't! That's Kaoru-dono's dinner, de gozaru yo!" The cat promptly scratched his face, not letting go of the fish. Kurama didn't let go either. He'd had plenty worse in the Bakumatsu, some cat was not going to make him give up that easily!

Kurama blinked, and he was back in Genkai's temple, only he was now sitting on the floor. "Oro?" he heard himself say, and he blinked again, promptly forgetting the odd little word. Shaking his head, he stood up. He remembered the dreams he'd had, and the epiphany of last night. Now the memories were following him into the daylight. This one didn't seem as bad as the ones he'd been having at night, though.

He shook his head, clearing it of the haunting thoughts. He shakily continued fixing lunch.

"Wow…" Kuwabara breathed. "Who knew you could cook, Kurama?"

Kurama laughed slightly. It wasn't a talent he was expected to have, so it was understandable why Kuwabara had said so. Even Genkai looked slightly shocked, and she had been the one who suggested he cook. He looked around the table. No one was eating, but that was half expected. He, on the other hand, had served himself (and the others) and had begun to eat. That seemed to be what the others were waiting for, after they saw that he did not keel over, also ate.

Kurama grinned at the others. They all clearly liked it, as Yusuke raised his hand, and said, "I vote we make Kurama permanent cook." The others raised their hands as well, even Hiei and Genkai.

Kurama just grinned. Until Kuwabara mentioned the bandage.

"Hey, Kurama, what happened to your face?"

Kurama stiffened imperceptibly, then relaxed. "I slipped on a puddle of water in the kitchen. I grabbed a bowl, it broke, and I cut my face."

Hiei gave him a skeptical look. "And this doesn't have anything to do with it spontaneously bleeding?"

Kurama twitched. Great. Now none of them would believe him…

"Spontaneously bleeding? You okay?" Yusuke sounded slightly concerned.

"It was nothing," Kurama insisted.

"It's always something. Otherwise it wouldn't be happening," Genkai grumbled.

All four of them looked at him expectantly. He ignored them and focused on the food.

And that only worked for about twenty seconds.

"Well…" Yusuke prompted him.

"Just forget it. It's nothing you should be worried about, de gozaru yo."

They all blinked. "What did you say?" Kuwabara asked.

"Oro?" Kurama went red under the staring.

That was it for Yusuke. "What language are you speaking?" he got out between the laughter at Kurama's extremely innocent and confused expression. Kuwabara began to laugh as well, though Hiei and Genkai were both only smirking.

"What are you talking about…?"

They all laughed a little harder. Kurama stood up and walked out, still red, claiming, "I'm going to go see how much gardening I'll have to do next week."

But he didn't. As soon as he was out of the temple, he went straight to the steps to go home. The others could do the dishes. Served them right.

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Sekamu: ;;Laughs evily;; yes! Kurama now has the scar... you see explanation for that next chapter, though. so please no questions. Kurama has already formed a theory, if any one wants to guess. You get it right, you get a cookie!!

Myst: Were they baked by you?

Sekamu: Yep!

Myst: Get it wrong. She can't cook.

Sekamu: shut up, you. But anyway, please review!!