Title: Yume

Series: Yuu Yuu Hakusho

Author: Distopia

Summary: Sometimes, nothing is as it seems. One girl dares to hope for an impossible dream... And is forced to suffer the consequences.

What becomes of the dreamer when the lines between reality and dream become blurred?

Chapter One: The Ballroom. (And; Like Always?)

She stumbled.

The simply ridiculous heels her poor long-suffering feet had been stuffed into upset her balance terribly, and the young woman stumbled around as though drunk. One hand swept demure grey silk to the side as she tripped on the back of her dress, before she finally reached her goal. Sinking back into the shadows of the corner, she dumped herself onto a convenient chair, fanning her face.

Beyond the forest of pillars ringing the ballroom, a glittering enchanted crowd ebbed like the tide, washing up against the occasional clot of people standing about and talking. The lilting strain of traditional waltz music distracted her, fading in an out like a radio with poor reception. Noise did that, also; the murmur of voices played counterpart to the music, fragments of conversation tripping over to land in her ears.

They were like nothing she had seen before.

A haunting sense of familiarity tugged at her thoughts, gently leading her down a path of total confusion. It almost seemed as though they changed as she watched; first dripping in gems, clothed in velvet and silk brocade; next rough and tumble young men and women in scuffed street clothes.

The flickering visions had her stomach churning uneasily and she put a hand to her forehead, nose crinkling up in distaste. She waited impatiently for it to subside, thoughts racing past confusion to realisation. The faces- she knew them. Had watched them through the shimmering portal of her television time and time again.

Her memories of them warred with their reality and she groaned, hands sliding over the slippery silk that coated her abdomen. What was going on?

There where others like her in the ballroom, of that she was dimly aware. People dressed in simple, demure colours with bewildered looks on their faces. She rocked forward in the chair, propping her forehead up with her hands. Why did she…

Would you care to dance?

The cool, cultured voice intruded on her private misery like a diver plunging into icy waters. She gasped, instinctively curling back into the chair. !

I won't bite, you know.

Teeth sinking into her lower lip, she shot him a guarded look from under her lashes. The sensation of familiarity was lost in the glitter and shine of his presence, and she felt apprehension seize her like a clawed hand at the bottom of a well. His lips curled into a mocking smile and he extended his hand, shifting into a half-bow of European fashion.

The sight stung her to the core and she reacted without thinking, surging to her feet in a flurry of grey silk and seizing the offered hand, drawing closer to him. Bright light dazzled her for a moment and she unthinkingly reached up a hand to shield her eyes. Cool fingers brushed her forehead, and she froze.

Ageless eyes of a breathtaking colour stared back at her, something almost like derision lurking in their depths. Her breath caught in her throat. This... this was when the hero or handsome stranger leans in, brushing her with his lips and compliments, breathing rhapsodies about her beauty into the shell of her ear, tracing patterns of promise on her exposed skin with soft, light touches, and-

She jerked herself from the chaotic whirl of thought with something like relief that tasted more like regret. Fighting not to choke on the heavy weight at the back of her throat, she turned a weak smile on the glittering Other.

"You wanted to dance, right?"

==/==

"So then what happened?"

"I woke up."

"You woke up? What the hell! You have this awesome dream, and then at the most awesome part you-"

"Wake up, yeah, I get it already."

"It's just- I can't believe- ooh, do you even know who he was?"

"Umm… well, yeah, I suppose... I mean, in dreams it's always like… you know, but you don't know, right?"

"I think so..."

"Yeah, like the bigger part of all of me gets it, but the little part in the dream just kinda goes, 'oh yeah okay whatever'. So anyway-"

"Anyway, who was it?"

"I didn't think you'd be so interested-"

"Answer the damn question already, bitch."

"*snicker* Oh alright, your highness."

"…"

"Well? You said you knew who it was!"

"…Yeah, it was, umm…Kurama…"

"Ku-whaddya mean? What anime?"

"…Yuu-Yuu Hakusho…"

"…"

"OH MY GOD!"

"Are you trying to kill my eardrums?"

"That is so cool! But- I mean, come on, a whole BALLROOM full of hot guys and girls from anime- and you only pick one?"

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry, next time I'll remember to pick up my slut brigade membership-"

"Psshaa, so, what was it like? I mean these dreams are always intense, yeah?"

"It was really weird. I'm hiding there in this corner… and they're all out in the ballroom- and, get this Kat, they weren't supposed to know I was there!"

"What, you where like a spy or something?"

"No, I think it was just more of a 'look but don't touch' kind of deal."

"Lame. So, what happened after that?"

"Yeah, well, umm…"

"Oh god, you did it, didn't you? The wallpaper thing. I cannot believe you sometimes, I swear! Even in your dreams you're an antisocial little bint!"

"Hey! I can be sociable! He asked me to dance!"

"That is so not sociable- he was doing everything! Sociable would be you asking him, idiot."

"Oh. Right… eh heh… Well, I'll do it next time then."

"Next time?"

"Yeah. It's a full moon- I can try tonight."

"… I forgot about that…"

"Look, why don't you sleep over? I might be able to get you in."

"Sweetie, sometimes you really creep me out. Wait- oh, I didn't mean it like that! It's just… you're so casual about it, yanno?"

"…"

"Look. I'll come round with some chips, we'll sit down and drool over some hot anime boys, then… we'll sleep. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Um… okay. Just let me ask mum…"

"And this time you are not being a wallflower!"