Oyasumi Nasai: Sweet Dreams
chapter 2
by Melissa Koh / Hypertia
Yuu Yuu Hakusho, Vampire Princess Miyu
Yuu Yuu Hakusho / Kyuuketsuhime Miyu crossover
Oyasumi Nasai: Sweet Dreams
PEACE
You wanted PEACE, didn't you?
Well, here it is. I'm offering it to you.
Will you take it?
Take it and be free?
Existing only in your own world
Where sorrow and pain will never touch you.
Never again.
Will you accept my offer?
To live in your own fantasies
Bathing in joy and oblivion.
Never knowing, always innocent.
It's PEACE, isn't it?
It's your wish, isn't it?
Will you take it?
Take it and lose yourself?
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Yume 2.0: Return
*Koenma*
Paperwork. More and more paperwork.
I really hate them. Hate-them-hate-them-hate-them.
They take up so much of my time. I don't even have time to sleep anymore.
I've been going like this since |she| died. I want to stop all this: the mental torture, the guilt, and the knowledge that I might have been the cause of |her| death.
But I can't. If I stop working, just for a while, everything comes flooding back to me. Losing |her|, the break-up of the Urameshi Team, after so many years...everything is gone. All that's left are just shreds and nothing more. The spirit that once bound all of us together is gone, along with |her|.
I'm so tired. I really want to rest, maybe even die.
But I'm dead already. I'm the God of Death, or at least, His son and heir.
Why do I still feel? Why do I still experience this pain that gnaws at my heart everyday? I want it gone. Out of my life.
I hear a frantic pounding at the door. I break out of my trance and look up. Before I can answer, the door opens and reveals a panicked George.
He bursts into the room, his eyes shining.
"Koenma-sama! You have visitors."
So? It's probably the Higher Powers demanding a full report about |her| death. Typical of them to realise that she's missing now. It's about time; a year has passed since that day.
That accursed day.
I shake my head and block out that memory. It's been so long.
"Who?" I said irritably. I guess I needed sleep more that I realise.
"Kurama, Yuusuke and..." he trails off, voice choked with emotion. I wait for him to continue, absently noticing the glimmer of tears in his eyes. No wonder they're shining in the light.
"Well?" I prompt, staring at him.
He sniffles and gulps a deep breath. "I think you'd better see for yourself."
I frown unhappily. He's being too secretive for my liking. And why is he crying?
I sigh. He isn't going to tell me, that's for sure. He wouldn't keep me in suspense for so long just to lose everything now. I'll just have to figure it out myself.
"Where are they?" I ask, though I knew where to expect them.
A huge grin breaks across George's face as he blinks. The glimmer in his eyes remains. He bows, more in jest than out of respect for me. I don't expect otherwise. He's been looking after me since I was a child. But ever since |she| left, he hardly showed any of his old humour. The rest of Reikai just picked up the pieces and went on with business as usual, but without the cheer that existed when |she| was with us.
"With your permission, milord."
I nod curtly. He whirls around and leaves, presumably to lead the guests. But Kurama and Yuusuke would know where to go by now. It isn't as though it's the first time they've been here. Before |she| died, they used to step down into the office. Not often, but enough for them to know exactly where to go.
Kurama and Yuusuke...they're the only members of the ex-Urameshi Team left in Japan. I guess just about everything fell apart when she |died|. The last straw was her request, that Yuusuke should give her the gift of death. I haven't forgiven her for that, for leaving us.
But sometimes, I can't help wondering whether it's my fault. If I hadn't handed |her| that Orb, the parasite wouldn't have awakened inside |her|. And if it hadn't awakened, |she| would still be alive. The Urameshi Team wouldn't have broken up then.
All for self-preservation...|she| sacrificed so much for Reikai. And all I did was to blame her.
Damn it all!
I shove the papers off my desk. Not that they're completed; I haven't read through two-thirds of them, but it's useless to do so. Resting my head on the desk, I inhale the fragrant wooden scent thoughtfully.
A knock on the door. I tilt my head slightly and see Kurama with Yuusuke. I gesture for them to enter. Kurama obliges, nodding his head in acknowledgement and literally drags the raven-haired student-delinquent into the office.
Yuusuke looks weird; he's grinning widely, something I haven't seen for sometime, ever since |she|...But his smile is funny. Dreamy, almost empty. As though he's living in his own world. Has he gone mad?
Maybe I shouldn't have left him alone in Genkai's temple. I should have paid more attention to him.
His brown eyes strike me most. Once warm and expressive, you could read his thoughts just by gazing into his eyes. They _were_ the windows to his soul. But now, they have lost their brilliance. Unseeing eyes stare straight at me, chilling me to my bones.
What happened? What's wrong with him?
Kurama coolly gazes at me with jaded eyes.
"Koenma, we have a problem," he announces in a clean, precise tone.
I notice a third shadow behind them, hidden in the dark. I squint my eyes trying to get a better look, at the same time, noting the familiarity of it.
It---she---steps into the light. I stare, eyes widening at the sight of |her|, well and alive standing before me.
She smiles weakly, but her eyes are puffy, as though she has been crying.
"I'm back, Koenma-sama."
I feel light-headed suddenly. The world is spinning as I roll back my eyes.
I hear my face connect the desk with a loud thud. I can feel the pain. I wonder if I broke anything.
I can smell the metallic scent of blood mixing with the scent of wood. It is a peculiar combination. Musty and metallic at the same time.
I think I'm going to throw up.
"Koenma-sama ~!"
Rest. I must have rest. I'm imagining things. This is just a hallucination. Come on, sleep. You definitely need it.
"Koenma-sama ~!"
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Yume 2.1: Return - Part 2
*Koenma*
I just had a strange dream. I dreamt about |her|.
In the dream, she returned to Reikai with Kurama and Yuusuke. Her eyes were red, swollen as though she has been crying.
Why? Why is she crying? Why did I dream of her return?
I guess my mind is working overtime. Because of all the stress I'm under. That's why I dreaming of her.
But it didn't feel like a dream. It lacked the foggy quality that's always in dreams.
It still hurts, to think of her. But I have never stopped thinking of her.
I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling. George hovers over me, watching me with anxious eyes. I sit up and look around the room. My bedroom.
The light almost blinds me. I ignore it and sweep the room with a glance, searching for a sign of |her|. I sigh, but whether in relief or disappointment, I don't know. But I think I'm disappointed. That can account for the heaviness in my heart.
I almost believed that |she's| back with us. What a dream. I just wish it didn't hurt *this* much.
"Koenma-sama," George whispers. I hear the worry and sadness in his voice. I brace myself to look cheerful, and gaze up at him.
"I'm okay, George. Just tired, I guess."
He gives me a concerned look. "You shouldn't overwork yourself, Koenma-sama. You'll only strain your health."
I smile painfully. Overworking myself is the only way to block out the pain.
He offers me a glass of water.
"Arigato," I murmur. But I don't drink immediately. Instead, I stare at the glass, wondering when this pain will stop.
His voice cuts through my thoughts. "You miss her, don't you? I do too.
"But putting your health at risk would have hurt her only."
I have the sudden impulse to tell him of my dream.
"George, I just dreamt of her. I dreamt that she's back with us."
|Her| voice travels from the corner of the room.
"But I *am* back, Koenma-sama."
I whirl around and see her familiar figure standing at the doorway.
"Botan?!"
She smiles, and closes her eyes. Tears streak her face.
"Hai, Koenma-sama. Tadaima."
I blink back the tears threatening to form. Slowly, I rise to my feet, with the help of the George, and extend my arms towards her.
"Okaeri nasai, Botan."
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Oyasumi Nasai: Sweet Dreams - Yume 2 ~ End
Standard disclaimers apply here.
Author's notes:
Gotta thank Jenni again. Characters are more or less OOC, and as usual, the prelude is *trash*.
- End Part -
