Her surroundings were blurred and she felt a sick unease settle into the bottom of her stomach. This was wrong. This was so wrong. For the first time in her life she actually felt unsure of what she was feeling. She had never had the type of spirit power that allowed her to fight demons like Kuwabara, and she definitely couldn't tell the future, but what she always know to be her true power was her ability to sense things. She had an intuition that was never wrong. Or at least not until now. The sense of doubt that plagued her mind was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Without her even considering the possibility, Yoko had deprived her of the one thing she had come to rely on. She was seeing Yoko where she should have been seeing Kurama and feeling things for Yoko that she had thought she only felt for Kurama. The world passed by in jagged edges and uneven lines and she didn't even know where she was going. She felt her self losing balance, but was spared a fall by a firm grip on her forearm. She turned to face the fuzzy outline of a man. She struggled to focus her vision and eventually found her self face to face with Yusuke. He was making some kind of weird grimace and she didn't feel patient enough to deal with his impending concern. "let go" she managed to growl, before attempting to shake free of his hold.

"Well if you say so." Shizuru felt herself falling forward again and this time she fell to her knees. She turned to find Yusuke struggling to hold in his laughter. "What the hell Yusuke?" No longer able to contain himself, Yusuke threw back his head and let out a laugh that only made Shizuru more angry. She pushed herself up from the ground and stumbled forward again. Like before she was stopped by a grip on her arm and like before she turned around to see Yusuke.

"Geez don't be so mad Shizuru. I was only trying to help. You look a little..."

"I look a little what?" she snapped.

"Out of it. Is something wrong?" He had stopped laughing and was now looking at her with a critical eye. Yusuke didn't typically have the greatest ability to sense things, but she could tell that he knew something was wrong with her.

Shizuru huffed angrily before turning her back to Yusuke.

"Don't worry about it" she said as she stalked off. She had hoped her icy demeanor would be enough to make him lose interest, but these hopes were dashed once she realized he was trailing behind her and quickly catching up to her.

"I know there's been something going on between you and Kurama lately."

She eyed him warily. Not wanting to let her surprised show on her face. She hadn't realized that it had become common knowledge that she had a special relationship with Kurama, but it seemed that they weren't as discrete about it as she thought. Although it probably had been pretty obvious that there was at least a little tension between them after the incident at the bar. She couldn't blame it solely on Yoko's behavior either. After having one too many drinks she had been feeling a little more willing to give into the fox demon that she had been willing to admit. Which was how she found herself in this new situation with Kurama. She had come so close to get him to open up to her about the extent of Yoko's control and now... Now she would would be lucky if he was even willing to let her back into his apartment, let alone tell her anything. She hadn't meant to push him away like that. In fact, she wanted just the opposite. All this time she had been trying to restrain herself from allowing her feelings for Kurama to get in the way of her helping him. If the circumstances had been different she probably would have been the one it initiate the kiss. The memory of how close he had been to her made heat seep into her abdomen and twist her insides into uncomfortable knots. She could even feel her face grow warm. It was at this moment that Yusuke grabbed her arm, halting her thoughts and her walking, and turned her to face him. He stared suspiciously into her face. Reflexively, she scowled and yanked her arm away.

"Oh buzz off Yusuke. If you're just here to be nosey and annoying you might as well go hang out with Kuwabara instead."

"Hey! I resent that! I might actually be able to help if you quit being so pissy you know."

She mulled it over. Yusuke was far more experienced in dealing with the spirit world than her. Maybe he could be of some use.

"Well I've been having trouble sleeping lately and it seems that sometimes my dreams find their way into reality. Got any spirit detective advice for me?"

Yusuke paused. His face looked kind of blank. He seemed to be thinking. She figured it would stump him, but she couldn't help trying. She was about to walk away again when Yusuke started to speak.

"Well... I'm not sure what your freaky dreams have to do with being a spirit detective, but if I was up against a spirit screwing around with my dreams, I guess I'd have to beat him in my dreams too."

"Beat him in a dream? Could Yoko really be beat that way? It did make sense. Yoko seemed to be strongest when Kurama was asleep and he had even appeared in a few of her dreams. If Kurama fought and killed Yoko in one of his dreams, maybe the part of Yoko that lived within him would die too."

Yusuke was staring at her again, but this time she smiled at him.

"I guess there is a little bit going on up there after all. I knew Kuwabara was smart for keeping you around."

"Bold fashion statement by the way! Last night's club wear, this morning!" He shouted after her.

She had forgotten that she was still wearing the outfit from the night before, but she couldn't worry about that now and with that thought she dashed off towards Kurama's building, heels and all.

As she pushed open the doors to Kurama's building, she forced herself to ignore the surprised stares of people she pushed aside and raced for the elevator. Her heart was beating fast and her head was spinning. She didn't know why, but she felt she had to get back to Kurama as soon as possible. She had to tell him how to defeat Yoko before it was too late. She wasn't even sure if he would be willing to listen to her but, she knew she had to try. Her fingers tapped desperately against the up elevators button, but it seemed to be moving slower instead of faster. When it finally dinged and slid open she didn't hesitate to rush in and press Kurama's floor. Before she knew it she was running as fast as she could down the hall. Kurama's door seemed to be an eternity away, but she reached it quickly and began pounding on the door. She expected him to ignore her. She expected him to keep her outside until he decided she had been punished enough, but she also knew that time was running out for the both of them. The urgency made her feel unusually desperate. It felt like years had past since she had last seen him instead of hours. How much could happen in that amount of time? When door pounding stopped working she resorted to jiggling the knob in an attempt to force her way inside. The harder she shook though the more steadily the door seemed to stand against her attempts. Finally she sunk down to her knees in exhaustion. Surely there had to be a way in? Although it was strange for Kurama to leave her outside for so long. As she was thinking of other ways to get inside the door creaked open, revealing Kurama's empty apartment. She got up slowly and made her way in right before the door slammed shut behind her. A strange fog had begun to fill the room and Shizuru knew before she felt his icy stare on her back, it was Yoko.

Turning to face him she found Yoko leaning casually against the door. At least he looked casual. She suspected this was actually to show her that she wouldn't be able to leave until he was done with her. She was trapped.

"I didn't realize you were so eager to see me again. I guess our last meeting wasn't enough for you?"

A ghost of a smirk graced his lips and for the first time Shizuru was able to say that his features were overwhelmingly foxlike. Especially the cunning glitter of his yellow eyes. This was a being who was very clearly not Kurama.

"I didn't come here to see you." She spat out angrily. "Let me speak to him!"

Yoko let out a dark chuckle and even managed to appear genuinely amused, but she knew better.

"Well, someone is in a mood. What's wrong Shizuru? Don't you want to kiss me anymore? I assure you that I'm much better at it than Kurama."

It was her turn to scoff at the comment.

"That's it isn't it? That's why you keep appearing to me this way. Not just because I'm psychic. Because..."

His eyes sparkled dangerously. He was hanging on her every word.

"Because what? If if you know so much you should say it."

"You... You..."

"I... I... What!? Spit it out!"

Shizuru flinched instinctively. It was unlike Yoko to raise his voice. He liked to seem calm at all times. For him to show this much interest in what she was saying, she could tell she hit a nerve.

Taking a deep breath, Shizuru looked Yoko straight in his eyes.

"You want me, don't you? You want me to be yours... instead of Kurama's."

"Hn. That's what you think, is it? Well it's an interesting theory."

Yoko lazily pushed himself off the door and took a step towards her. Every fiber of her being was screaming that she take a step back, but she didn't move. She didn't want to show him how much she feared him. Eventually he was very close and began to circle her. Arms folded over his chest, without even looking towards her. She could tell she was right about what she was saying and continued.

"Actually it's what I know. Kurama was right. You want what he has, and that includes me. That's why you keep showing yourself to me. But you'll never have me, because I also know what Kurama hasn't realized. Once you've completely gotten rid of Kurama you'll kill me."

There was silence. Yoko had stopped walking directly in front of her. He simply looked straight ahead. Suddenly, his lips split into a wide, sickening grin. He was laughing. Laughing so hard that his shoulders shook with the force of it.

"Kill you?"

He asked in mock surprise. The words sounding silly and childlike smashed between his laughter.

"I'd much rather play with you for a bit. Who knows. Maybe I'd even keep you around."

His laughter cut off abruptly and he became serious again. It made her wonder if his laughter had even been real, or if he was just toying with her.

"Would you like that Shizuru?"

A long cold finger gracefully traced the outline of her lips. She had to act fast.