_CASE v: DREAMS_

Senpai! Senpai! I...I can't hear myself... My voice...! It won't come out! Senpai! Senpai!

The haunting dark room had violated her peace of mind. But now, no one was there to save her. The deafening silence could have broken her down, but she had a goal to fulfill. The goal that kept her sane.

The very reason why she had made it this far. Mainly, it had been her push to finish earlier. Emotional trauma caused her to fall fast on the floor just as tears flowed like running water out her eyes. Tamaki-senpai, Kyoya-senpai. The Host Club. I don't want to see us like this.

What really happened that day?

"Haruhi." the distant blonde figure uttered. Nonchalant and dead was the voice, it was enough to break the silence. Enough to catch her attention.

Senpai! SENPAI! Her head was filled with thoughts. No, they were questions. Still, no matter how she tried, no voice was heard. Starting to lose a grip on herself, she swiveled her head towards the figure. The figure she had been longing for. A strange and crazy look filled her eyes. The same eyes that wanted to see them happy. In place of the many words she wanted to say, a smile was all she could give.

Contrary to what was running in her mind, she heard mockery. Someone was laughing. The voice grew louder. And louder and louder until she finally realized; the voice was in her head! Maybe she wasn't as sane as she thought of herself to be. Her eyes moved sideways restlessly as if they wanted to search for the source. But her ears could tell where it was exactly. It was her.

"That's it Haru-chan. Laugh." A new figure loomed at her. Another blonde, but this one had been petite.

"Yes, Haruhi. You should." Now, a tall one with black hair joined in. He was near the one who spoke before.

"That would profit you most, Haruhi." A bespectabled, black-haired boy spoke next.

"Didn't you want this?"

"This reunion, Haruhi?" The twins. They continued each other's sentences.

Everyone was gathered around her. They were looking at her spiraled body on the floor. The one uncontrollably cackling and crying. Just like a psycho. Exactly mimicking the same manner of voice as the first one, they were hollow. You're not real! She continued in hysterics.

She averted her eyes to look at each of them, but their faces had dimmed. They weren't there! From the horrid sight, she was shaking from laughter. Saliva started to gather in a pool on the floor. As hard as she could try, she couldn't shut her mouth. She couldn't stop the laughing.

"Haruhi."

Her eyes shot open. There she was in a dark room. But the darkness came from no endless void; it was the darkness of her room.

No more deafening silence. No more laughing. No more distant figures. At least no more until she closes her eyes again. The momentary escape calmed her racing heartbeat down a bit. Breathe in, breathe out.

Lifting her hand up to her face, she let it linger on her forehead a while. It was the same sensation again. Every night, she would wake up in cold sweat. Every night since that day. With her sleeve, she wiped it dry. When will this stop? In cue, she cupped her face to find something unusual. There were streaks on her face. Tears.

"Are you alright?" A worried tone chimed in. It came from the silhouette by the doorway.

"J-just a little nightmare..." She added a little smile to make the illusion of being alright.

"Well, you shouldn't sleep immediately again." With that, he left her in her room.

Without hesitation, she got out of bed and followed him. He was drinking his routine milk on the couch, exactly opposite of the door.

"Train..." Her voice was weak. It didn't even matter if he heard or not, she was just glad to have someone like him around. Glad to have him around.

"Yeah?" Pulling away from the carton, their momentary pause gave shine to the TV set.

[Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Another big catch just after a week. How do you guys do it?]

Letting go of the doorframe, she just shook her head smiling. It's not right to talk about it now... He probably would find it boring anyway. Deciding to watch the program, she sat on the couch too.

[Heh Heh. I guess you could say we have good connections, and a special secret weapon.]

"Amazing." There was a gentle clunk on the table. A glass. How thoughtful. After pouring some milk into it, she took a big swig.

[There you have it folks! The secret of a world class sweeper, er...of world class sweepers, I mean. Let's play that clip again.]

Just on cue, the screen showed shaky, moving images. A man in a white suit carrying a briefcase was opposite of an ordinary looking man.

The scene lasted for only a few seconds. A quick black thing dashed before the screen, and the man writhed in pain on the street, then a blonde girl jumped in and restrained him with some kind of yellow rope. In place of the sound, there was a static noise of some kind.

[In this frame...we'll take this in slow motion...there's Mr. Volfeld with his Attache case, ready to apprehend the S-class, dangerous, explosives expert, Li Mao. On this frame...]

A black dash. It can't be some kind of distortion from the device. It was created from in front the camera. But...this thing is ridiculously fast, and that's not something I should be surprised of.

[This haze covers half of the picture and most of Mao. Then here, we see him going down and out. Amazing job by Sven Volfeld and his partner Eve.]

The TV's image shrunk as white light slightly flashed and then the sound of it distorted. Black out.

"Haruhi? Train's deep voice cut through the silence smoothly.

"Yeah." Unafraid of the dark, her voice did not shake nor did she. Instead she just turned his way.

Moonlight from the window streamed in and gently hit Train's face. His cat-like, yellow eyes glowing in the dark. It felt like a painting. The blight told of his mystique and how much she has yet to know of him, and the eyes told her she had more to know. It was a beautiful sight.

"What kind of dream were you having?" The question caught her off-guard.

"Huh?" As stupid as it sounded, this was what she could say. A pregnant pause made the atmosphere tense.

Oh God. I didn't expect this. What should I do? What should I say? Oh God.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me, y'know." His voice sounded lighter somehow.

In a way, she could see him smiling at her. How ridiculous, Haruhi. All you can see are his eyes. His eyes as golden as Tamaki-senpai's locks. His eyes as sharp as Kyoya-senpai's gaze. He is mysterious. As mysterious, no, more mysterious than Hani-senpai and Mori-senpai combined.

Just as sudden as her thoughts, a soft, warm feeling trickled down her cheek.

"Why are you crying? Is it that bad?" Despite his warm concerns, it felt like a hot knife had cut through her chest. He was right, after all.

Her jaw dropped a bit as she trembled. Yes it is. She slowly nodded and let her tears fall. I can't take this anymore.

Somewhere in their story-telling, she fell in his arms, and he caressed her; slowly stroking her long straight hair. There, in the silvery light of the moon, she felt safe. It was this sole moment that could make her welcome sleep. A smile floated on her face. I wouldn't mind dreaming right now. Lazily, she let her already drooping eye lids fall entirely, enveloping her mind in darkness. Without sight, her other senses heightened; random night noises echoed into the night. Fast humming of the cricket's song, the strong sound of a car's engine passing by, the distant howls of dogs into the night-everything lulled her to sleep. Breathe in... their breathing had synched somehow...Breathe out.

[AND JUST LIKE THAT, FOLKS!]

KYAA! Literally jumping for about an inch, her heart was pounding again; racing inside her chest. Immediately, her eyes shot open as her pupils dilated in reflex. Uninvited light streamed in quickly, and the boisterous sound she heard continued.

"Power's back on." Nonchalant as he usually was, she averted her gaze towards him; just staring silently. The moonlight had shrunk to a small portion by the window; its natural mystique stolen by the presence of artificial light. The room had reverted back to plain view.

"Uh, Haruhi?" He interrupted her thoughts.

"Hm?" Pleasantly toning her voice, she removed her gaze from the window back to Train.

"I can't move."

Automatically, she quickly removed herself from him, standing up just as quick. She faced the door to her room. It was ajar; the darkness didn't look so scary anymore.

"I'll be sleeping now." She said, facing the doorway to secretly hide her scarlet face.

"Aryt, Good night!" Even thought she had her back to him, Train smiled and waved her good night as jolly and carefree as he always was. The TV continued its noises making Haruhi think Train's still going to watch. Awkwardly, she marched towards her room; her arms remained still at her sides.

Her steps slowed near the doorway and she came to a halt. She brought her right hand to her face, cupping it. Her face was warmer than usual.

"I'm leaving the door open." It was her final statement before sneaking a glance at Train who was still stationery in the couch jugging down bottles of milk.

As silent as she could, she climbed back onto her bed, facing the wall. Just for this one night, she didn't fear going back to sleep, it actually felt alright.

With a smile on her face, she let gravity befall her eyelids. Slowly drifting off to her slumber, she mumbled still with a smirk unchanging.

"Thank you very much, Train."

[How long do you and your partner intend to stay in Japan, Sven-san?]

[As long as it takes us to find something very special to us.]

Another click and the TV set was off. A smirk lingered on his face, as he toyed with the remote in his hand.

"Always welcome, Haruhi. Always."

CHAPTER 5! :D

Reviews are very much welcome.:)