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through the inky shadows, piercing Kurama and exploding in a brilliant
sphere of light that nearly  blindsided him as it bounced back and
splashed all over his astral body. Covering his eyes with an arm, he
braced himself and waited for the light to fade.


***


A memory from what seemed to be an eternity ago...

Kurama stared at the ceiling of his room. As a youkai, he had his own
sort of third eye for sensing trouble. But that was usually reserved for
sneak attacks or for recognizing the ki of his enemies during battle.
His sense of premonition in this situation was completely different. A
sense that humans were more familiar with: that feeling of dread when=20
something bad was about to happen. Through this feeling came a jargon of
semi-coherent thought.

'What if Munashii suddenly goes after Yusuke or Kuwabara? The odds are
certainly against them, with him having beaten Hiei. How is Hiei faring
anyway? I hope he survives. What if this _thing_ goes after me? I think
I can handle it; but what about my mother...?'=20

Kurama froze at the last thought. There was a noise coming from his
mother's room; something akin to metal clanking on the floor. He
instinctively ran for his parent, fearing the worst. He heaved a sigh of
relief once he got there. She was just doing some needlework when her
toolkit accidentally fell. She looked a bit startled though, and was now
looking at Kurama with worry in her eyes.

"Shuichi. Is there something wrong?" his mother asked.=20

Kurama let out a slight laugh. "No, nothing's wrong, kaasan. I was just=20
surprised by the noise. What are you doing?"

'Shuichi's' mother brightened up with his last statement. "I've decided
to take up needlework as a hobby, son. I'm a little rough at it, though.
I haven't done this since I was a child." She let out a delicate laugh,
to which Kurama could not help but laugh with as well. It had always
reminded him of tinkling bells ever since he first heard it as a child.=20

To this an animated discussion on needlework followed. Actually, it was
more like Kurama listening and Shiori making detailed accounts about the
wonderful world of needle and thread. This kind of situation may bore to
death any other boy his age, but Kurama had high regard and respect for
his mother and whatever she did.=20

After their brief conversation ended, Kurama left Shiori with her new
hobby. He mouthed the words, "Sayonara, kaasan. Ai shiteiru," in the
doorway of his mother's room, to which he got the silent reply of "Good
night, Shuichi. I love you too."

In the outer hallway of the Minamino residence, Kurama swore to himself,
'I won't let any monster touch my kaasan. Not even one hair.'


***


The early morning sky appeared instantaneously, winking into unnatural
existence like a bad cut scene from a low-budget movie; nevertheless, it
was still a gorgeous sight to behold. The weather was nice and sunny,
with just a hint of moisture left over from the morning dew. The air
wafted lazily with a deliciously crisp fragrance, full of perfumes and
smells, yet clear and fresh, with just a hint of suppressed dust
tickling the nose. A day like this was to be savored whenever possible.

Kurama, however, hadn't the time to indulge in the heavenly utopia
staring him right in his face; he had far more pressing matters to
attend to.

"Maya-san! Watch out!" Kurama exclaimed as he frantically tried to halt
his childhood friend's descent by catching her with his open arms. Thing
was, once he reached out, he held nothing but a fist-full of grass in
his hands. 'It was all a dream...?'

Kurama's heart pounded feverishly in his breast, his pulse racing like a
demented dervish, but it eventually slowed as he willed himself to
relax. He afterwards blinked and laughed at the ridiculousness of his
musings.=20

He hadn't woken up _from_ his dream, he'd simply 'woken' into a new and=20
completely different dream. His quest was not yet over, after all: Asuka
Matsui still needed to be reborn as Shuichi Minamino. 'I just need a
little more time, that's all.'

Kurama smiled wryly at the thought; 'Just how much more time do I need
exactly?' he inwardly chided as he dusted the glittering remnants of the
pillar of light off of himself and idly took stock of his current=20
whereabouts. 'Maybe Yusuke's right. Maybe I do beat around the bush far
too much. Perhaps I really am just wasting what's left of my time here
in the Dream World, pursuing frivolous good-byes.'=20

The demonic fox spirit let out a cathartic breath to further calm his
frayed nerves and palpitating heart. 'But, quite frankly, I wouldn't
have it any other way.'

Tired, confused, and with a great deal of soreness, Kurama managed to
lever himself up onto his hands and knees, and then to his feet. There
was a little light reflecting from the glass windows high in the east
wall of a nearby building. The sun was just rising, he realized. Where
exactly was he?=20

"Whoops!" He gulped down a wave of dizziness, reaching out to steady
himself against the back of a nearby bench. Then it passed, but he still
felt weak as he slowly moved forward, fighting off the feeling of nausea
that kept threatening to engulf him.

The light, slowly growing, revealed things that answered most of the
kitsune's questions yet gave birth to new ones. Nodding to himself, he
proceeded to meticulously survey his new surroundings, taking particular
note of the mushroom-infested trees, the algae-covered garden gnomes,
the bench he was currently leaning on, the carefully trimmed hedges, and
the manicured lawns.