.Five.

It was a strange room with all its darkness. There was only one window that opened to the light, but it did little to brighten the room. He stood there, still, emotionless, not quite knowing what was happening to him. He felt…heavy, like someone or something was holding him down to the ground. But his eyes were alert. They roamed the room freely, looking for anything interesting.

And then…

"Yusuke!"

It was like an arrow struck him. The weight was lifted from his shoulders and suddenly he was free. He jumped in alarm at the sound of his name and looked all around him for the source of the voice.

"What's going on?"

His voice went out to darkness and only echoed back to him, taunting him.

"Where are you? Help me, Yusuke!!"

"Keiko?"

The one name fell dead on his lips as the room suddenly shifted, melting away into a bright clearing, an area so bright that he had to shut his eyes for a moment. When he lifted them open again, what he saw horrified him. In the midst of the surreal field stood Keiko, and behind her stood a demon, sauntering oh so casually until it was but a mere few feet from her.

"Keiko, look out behind you!!"

He tried to run to run to her…to push her out of the way, but it seemed like he was moving slowly and everything else moved quickly. He watched Keiko smile faintly at him, completely oblivious to the demon poised to kill her. He yelled again and finally she turned, her happy expression morphing into one of terror and then to pain as the demon landed its fatal attack. Her screams sounded the region horribly and he was at once stunned to silence as he watched her slide to the ground lifelessly like a rag doll, her blood beginning to form a pool around her. The echoes of her screams still reigned clearly in the air and it was like someone was torturing him endlessly. The demon then turned towards him, a sinister gleam in its eyes.

"You…killed her."

Anger shot through him like a bullet and he was to his feet at once, eyes flashing in rage. The scenery around them changed once again to that of snow and ice. He found himself involuntarily shivering, but ignored it and focused on the demon before him. It would pay dearly for what it did. He would not allow it to live. The demon lifted one sharp tentacle and whipped him with it unmercifully. He was thrown to the icy ground and left in shock when he saw blood pouring from his own body.

"How could this be…?"

His voice was weak and strained. How could one hit affect him so? He hadn't even been able to move. He was glued to the ground and still was. It seemed that lying there was all he could as the demon slowly wrapped a tentacle around his body, lifting him to the air. It was like he was floating save the tightness around his chest and stomach. The demon began to squeeze him slowly until he could no longer breathe. He felt his bones being crushed into oblivion and the mindless screams he was letting out. It all seemed so unreal…

How could it end like this…?

"Ahhhhh…..!!"

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"Yusuke!!"

It was like breathing in fresh air. I felt warm arms wrap around me as I struggled to wake up. It was too horrible…too horrible. My eyes snapped open and the first thing I saw was Kurama…Kurama watching me with concern written clearly in his eyes. A wave of relief washed over me and I collapsed onto the bed, not even knowing I had sat up in the first place. Raising my hands over my face, I tried to steady myself. The dream…it wasn't the first time I had it, but I never had it so vividly. My skin was damp with sweat and my heart was racing.

"Yusuke?"

I felt gentle hands pulling mine away from my face. Light greeted me and I opened my eyes wearily to look at Kurama. "I'm all right. It was just a…dream," I managed to say, though my voice was raspy and I felt the screaming urge to cry. No…I would not cry.

Kurama stared at me stoically. I had no idea what he was thinking at that moment but I felt naked under his gaze more than ever. I turned over in the bed to face the wall and to seek refuge from Kurama's piercing eyes. I didn't blame Hiei one bit for liking this kitsune…those emerald eyes of his were more than enough to make any person go weak in the knees. For me it just made me feel so…little. Tears stung my eyes and I cursed at myself. Since when did dreams affect me like this? The pain I felt inside was so overwhelming that it completely overruled whatever I felt physically. What had scared me the most was the fact that the dream had felt so real. I felt almost like Keiko really did die. I really did feel rage and sorrow when I saw that demon take her down. Why wasn't I able to save her?

But Yusuke, it's only a dream.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself as I clutched onto the blankets as tightly as I could with the little energy I had. Why did this dream have to be so fucking painful? It was like that demon really was squeezing the life out of me. I felt like…

What I felt was Kurama lying down on the bed beside me and wrapping his arms around me. At once I felt a momentary second of security before whisking away to my own corners. He had surprised me. But his arms were no doubt supporting and what I needed. The tears were already falling from my eyes at that point and I didn't even realize it. God, was I emotionally unstable or what? Keiko and I were done with…over. But I wasn't done with her and apparently no matter how hard I tried to ignore my feelings, they came back tenfold. That dream made me realize something… If I ever lost Keiko that way, I probably would go into suicidal mode. My mind was ready to let her go but my heart wasn't. Inside, I was a torn conflict between letting go and not letting go.

"Will you tell me what it was about?" came Kurama's soft inquiry. It was so gentle, so soothing, that I couldn't possibly hold back. So I spilled all of the details of my dream like some blubbering child.

"I was in a room…and I couldn't move. I heard someone calling my name and at first I didn't know who it was. Then I realized it was Keiko," I began, feeling Kurama's grip tighten slightly as I mentioned her name. "Then the room changed. We were standing in the middle of a field and the light was shining like mad. I saw Keiko standing some yards away from me, smiling at me. Then I saw a demon…standing…right behind her. An-and it was coming up behind her slowly, ready to strike her down… I called for her to turn around and she did…at the last second," I paused for a moment to let the tears fall. My voice was getting more and more scratchy by the second. I did my best to clear it up and wiped some of the tears from my eyes in an effort to calm down.

"Then I began running to her," I started again, this time my voice clear and lacking any emotion at all. "But it was like running against a raging waterfall. I was moving like a snail and I saw the demon hit her. She fell to the ground, dead. I was angry…in rage…and I attacked the demon, or at least tried to. But it grabbed me and started squeezing the life out of me. I began screaming. And then I heard you," I finished tonelessly. The tears had ceased and now I was left to ponder the dream in a dead perspective. As quickly as the tears came, they were gone now. The pain was gone as well. I thought perhaps I had become numb from it all.

"It's all right, Yusuke. You said so yourself, it's only a dream. No matter how detailed it may be now, it will fade away soon. You're still here and Keiko is fine," Kurama murmured in my ear calmly, but his tone was dripping with concern and sincerity. Kurama always was quite expressive in his own ways. Though he may usually appear aloof and mysterious on the outside, he really wasn't if you looked deep enough. I closed my eyes and sighed softly.

"Just hold me," I requested quietly. Kurama's arms tightened around me in response and I got hold of a wave of comfort and protection. How did a silly food poisoning incident turn into this emotional shit? The combination of my mental problems along with my draining strength was really beginning to put a toll on me as I felt fatigue biting at my senses. After fighting it for a few seconds I finally succumbed to its sweet temptation.

"Rest well, Yusuke. I'll be here with you."

Kurama's words echoed in my mind as I drifted to a dreamless sleep.

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I woke up again very soon after my very embarrassing nightmare. This time I was still in Kurama's hold and I found myself staring at the blank wall before me thoughtfully. I was still feeling tired but definitely a hell of a lot better. I was more concerned with that incident I had. God, I was such a wimp. Crying because of some stupid dream…what in the world has happened to me? I managed to untangle myself from Kurama's arms and got out of bed as stealthily as I could. That was no easy trick either considering Kurama was on the outside of the bed. I literally had to crawl over him, which did wonders on my poor stomach. By the time I got out of the bed I was breathing like I had just ran a hundred mile marathon.

I collapsed against a chair and watched as Kurama merely rolled over and continued sleeping on. I smiled slightly. Poor guy. He probably stayed up watching over me. Frowning to myself, I looked at the clock. Eight in the morning? That meant I had been out for…nearly an entire day. Ah, well. I raised my arms and grimaced at how much effort it had taken for me to do such a simple gesture. I dropped them to my side immediately and looked at the door blankly. Could I? Should I…? Casting a spare glance at Kurama's sleeping figure, I shrugged. Nature was calling me to the bathroom and I doubt Kurama would want to wake up with me pissing on his floor…or better yet, his plants. Smirking at that thought, I slipped out of his room with great slowness.

Good thing it was so early. I was able to go use the bathroom without any disturbances and even managed a trip down to his kitchen-though doing all that did take an awfully long time considering the breaks I had to take because of my body's loud protesting to such physical assertion. Everyone else was still sleeping. The Minamino household must sleep in late on Saturdays. I just took two bowls, spoons, a box of cereal, and a carton of milk and headed back up the stairs. I placed them all on Kurama's desk before pausing. What if Kurama liked having juice? Then I went back down and got the carton of juice as well before settling to my own breakfast. After all that, I nearly fainted again from exhaustion. To be quite frank, I wasn't even hungry. My stomach was empty and thankfully, not making any strange sounds, but my body felt like it weighed a hundred tons.

I also think must have made too much noise because Kurama woke up as I nearly collapsed onto his chair. He turned over and looked at me dazedly for a moment. I smiled weakly at him. I never knew Kurama was the type to look like a little kid when he woke up. But that moment ended quickly when he suddenly sat up, staring at me in shock.

"Yusuke! How did you…? You shouldn't be up," he scolded gently, trying in vain to compose himself. I shook my head tiredly.

"You know me. Always up for a challenge," I stated, though my voice must have sounded pathetically weak because that was exactly how I felt. "Breakfast?" I prompted, gesturing to the bowls with a lazy hand.

Kurama stared at me for a long while before smiling slightly. He took the bowl and thanked me graciously before digging in. How Kurama could manage to be so polite at such an early hour will always be a wonder to me. I just continued watching him and thought to myself. Was I trying hard not to mention the night before? Hell yeah. I just wanted to tell Kurama I would be all right, thank him for taking care of me, and hightail it out of there. Of course would that clever kitsune ever let me go that easily? No.

"So how are you feeling now?"

"Better. Thanks."

"You didn't have any more dreams then?"

"…No."

Damn Kurama and all his curiosity and senses!! I managed to stay quiet for a while before looking at him seriously. He gazed back at me calmly and I found it hard to keep myself from choking him. Why was this guy so damn hard to catch off guard?

"I don't suppose you want to talk about it."

"No."

This time my answer came quickly and harshly. I turned away. Normally I would have stomped off but there was no way in hell my body would let me do it. I knew I was being a little baby. I also knew that Kurama was not going to let me drop it that easily. I also knew that he was going to find some way to manipulate me to explaining my feelings from the night before. Kurama was too damn clever for his own good sometimes. So before he could say anything, I interrupted him with, "All right, fine!! I'll tell you, gees."

Kurama looked a bit surprised by my statement but smiled at me nonetheless. "I was about to say you didn't have to, but all right," he commented lightly. I gaped at him.

"Well, in that case-!"

"No, you already said you were and you are."

"Fuck."

This time Kurama didn't even have to say or do anything to make me talk to him. In fact, it was really my fault for giving in so easily. Maybe subconsciously I actually did want to talk about it? Gah, I have no idea but I just know I did.

"So where do you want me to start?" I inquired casually. Fortunately I was beginning to feel the call for sleep and I believe Kurama realized it so we both knew this was going to be quick and short.

"Do you still want to be with Keiko?" he asked softly.

Of course, he had to ask the touchy question first. Fuck, dammit, curse all the forces in the world for putting me in this situation! That was what I screamed continuously in my mind at that moment. Oh, I knew it was childish and rather vulgar of me but at least I didn't say it aloud, right? All I did was just stare at him darkly and then answer with, "I don't know."

Kurama must have been frustrated. Goodness knows I would have been frustrated if I was in his position. But he never showed it and just continued on without any hesitation. "Are you over her?"

Goddamn it. "No."

Bingo! I could just see the light go on in Kurama's head. That was the first question I managed to give a straight answer and I knew he would find his way to get me to spill all me feelings. Of course that didn't mean I would give him an easy time of doing it!

Kurama shifted his gaze on me to the floor for a second before switching it back on me. I stared back at him defiantly. In the corner of my mind, I knew I must have been acting like a stubborn four-year-old kid but I wasn't about to give up so easily.

"You aren't over her then. Is that why you didn't catch that bicycle before it hit you?"

How in the world did Kurama manage to put so much force into that one question is another thing I will never understand. He stared at me darkly and his eyes never gave way into any emotion and I shuddered mentally at that.

"In a way yeah," I said before sighing tiredly. It was slowly getting harder and harder to focus. "Kuwabara called me yesterday asking me about us and why we were out together. Yeah, he saw us. So I just told him why couldn't two friends just hang out and then hung up. Then Keiko called, probably as a result of Kuwabara, and we talked. I pretty much told her you and I were 'going out' and she was ecstatic. Then we started talking about her boyfriend and the old times. I went into reminiscing mode and began regretting everything I ever did. She and I were good together you know. There is no doubt in my mind that we would've stayed together if I hadn't gone on my jumping sprees."

Kurama studied me for a few seconds before tilting his head to the side slightly. "Is that the reason you broke up?" he asked slowly, as if waiting for me to explode. Weird, I would usually yell at him for prying too deeply but I didn't. I just stayed put and remained quiet for a while. Don't ask what was going on in my head because I really can't recall all too well. It was just a complete blank.

"Yeah," I finally answered dumbly. By that time I was staring at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I really hated going through the "inquiry" but I wasn't objecting to it. Part of me wanted to spill everything out and apparently, that side was winning. And I was just too damn tired to be stubborn.

"I assume she broke up with you then."

"Yep." Meet Kurama, the successor to Mr. Einstein himself.

Kurama crossed his arms and remained quiet. I took this opportunity to study him. Boy, was this guy a mind reader or what? Then again, I was dealing with a kitsune that was alive for a way longer time than me. I suppose this so-called "wisdom" came with the territory. And here I was trying to act like everything was no big deal. Ah…

Finally Kurama changed his position again and was standing up. I watched him in mild surprise as he began to his drawer and opened it. Then he began rummaging around for something. "How did you feel when she broke up with you?" he queried as he resumed his search.

I stared at his back while wracking my brain for an answer. It was at the tip of my tongue but did I really want to spill the truth? Of course not. But it came out anyway. "I felt torn. She was everything to me and I always thought we would be together no matter what. I thought our relationship could survive. I thought that no matter what, Keiko would always be waiting for me. So when she broke up with me, I was knocked back to reality and it hurt like hell. I didn't want to believe it yet at the same time, I could see why she did it and it hurt me even more cause I caused it all. It was all my fault," I spat out bitterly, surprising myself. I sank back into the chair. I had used way too much energy for that.

Kurama finally turned around and walked over to me, dropping something in my lap. I looked down and saw a picture-a really old picture of the Reikei Tantei with Koenma, Botan, Shizuru, Keiko, Yukina, and Genkai included. I was surprised by it and picked it up slowly, studying it carefully. I didn't even know Kurama had a picture of all of us. Hell, I didn't even remember taking this picture! I looked at Kurama in surprise before dropping the picture back into my lap suddenly from the quick departure of strength in my hand.

"Fuck, this is old," I murmured, eliciting a smile from him.

"It just suddenly came back to me. I meant to show it to the others. You talking about the past reminded me. Botan gave me this a while ago as a birthday gift-it's the only copy," he explained slowly as he gazed at it fondly. I studied him and shook my head slightly as I gave it to him with a quivering hand that disturbed me greatly.

"You should frame this little baby!" I exclaimed. Kurama stared at me for a second before nodding in agreement, a small smile on his face as he took it from my hand; my hand fell promptly back to my side. I breathed in deeply to regain some steadiness as I watched Kurama walk over to his desk and take a frame that held a picture of him and his mother and turn it over, pulling the picture out. I blinked and cocked my head to the side. "Wait…you don't have to get rid of that picture just to put ours in…" I began weakly.

Kurama turned to me and smiled. "There are plenty of pictures of mother and me in this house and only one of all my friends. It will be all right to use this frame," he remarked calmly as he placed the frame back on his desk, the picture gleaming proudly in the light. He placed the old picture in his drawer and sat down again, looking at me sternly.

"Now we shall go back to our former topic."

"Ah, fuck."

This time I didn't hold back my comment or my glare. So I was both glaring and cursing at Kurama. Scary thought, now that I think back on it. But Kurama took it lightly and just countered my glare with a steady look.

"So how do you feel now?"

I rubbed my eyes. "The same only now the regret is even greater," I answered. "But you know…part of me wants to get over her. My heart is unwilling but my mind is."

"I understand. So now I suppose you ran out of your house for a morning run and got distracted by these thoughts and managed to get yourself hit by a bicycle and also suffer a rather bad case of food poisoning," Kurama deducted.

I stared at him blankly. "Yeah," I agreed dumbly. Correction, meet Kurama, the successor to Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Kurama nodded at me and sighed. "So that's how you feel?" he asked, all his masks down and concern written clearly in his eyes. I stared back at him, feeling very much like a child.

"Yeah…it's not really a dilemma. I know I can get over Keiko. It's just a matter of meeting the right person and doing that whole 'falling in love' thing-or of course…wait for five years to pass," I remarked offhandedly, amusing myself with the first idea. Whoever that person would be, he or she would really need some serious amounts of charm and wit to get me over Keiko that's for sure.

"So what now?"

I looked at Kurama uneasily. "Listen, Kurama…thanks you know…for being with me last night. I think you were probably the reason why I didn't have any further dreams," I said, embarrassing myself. Humbleness was never my thing.

Kurama stared at me with laughter in his eyes but something else was in there as well. I just couldn't identify it. "You don't need to thank me, Yusuke. You're my friend and I am also playing your boyfriend so how could I leave you either way?" he replied with a chuckle.

I stared at Kurama and couldn't help but smile along. Kurama really was a good friend. There was definitely a lot more to learn about him and his past, but I was more than willing to do it. Strange…the more I hung out with him, the more I wanted to know about him and the more he was slowly letting out more information as the days passed. Perhaps I developed some infatuation with him but I found myself more alive when I was with him than I had been in quite some time. It was a good thing.

"So is the investigation over, detective?"

Kurama blinked at me blankly for a moment before chuckling. "Yes, I suppose so. But next time…if you're ever feeling lost or in need of someone to talk to, you can come to me," he said gently but firmly. I looked at him and then burst out laughing.

He must have thought I was being rude and didn't care about his concern but really I wasn't. It was just weird to see Kurama so worried about…me!! I remember him staring at me with some slight annoyance in his eyes and couldn't help but grin at it. I finally calmed down and stared at the floor for a bit before turning my gaze to him.

"Thanks, Kurama. That means a lot to me."

I think he was surprised by the sincerity in my voice…hell, even I was surprised at myself. He just looked at me with this strange expression that I couldn't fathom but then his face broke out into a smile, a real, genuine, happy smile that was rare from him.

"Now what shall we do about our curious Kuwabara?"

I smirked and brought my hand to my chin. "I could think of several ideas."

"Do tell."

"With pleasure. But first…bed," I replied.

Kurama laughed and helped me over to his bed where I immediately fell asleep again.

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TBC