"Paahh, aaahh," the blue creature gurgles.

I groan. Can't I get any sleep anymore? That Puu is driving me CRAZY!! I can't believe Botan and Keiko finds him so cute. Cute, my ass...

I start to pound his head. "Shut up, you crazy thing!"

Instantly, I regret it when I felt a sudden pain on my head. "Ouch!"

Puu looks at me. Another thing I can't believe is that he's a link to my soul. I don't even look a bit like him, for God's sake.

He sits on my lap as I groan again. "You crazy--" I start.

He starts to flap its--ears? Wings? And flies around the room, crying out, "Kah, ah, la, pu, pa!"

"LEMME GET SOME SLEEP!" I shout. I grab a pillow and throw it to him. It misses him by three inches, but he goes on flying around the room until he lands on my head.

Damn, that creature's hard to hit.

I wave my hand above my head. He flies again, silently this time.

Finally!

My eyes are close before they hit the pillow of my bed. I hazily remember Puu land somewhere on the bed. I am too sleepy to know where.

Then, suddenly, there is a loud, "PAAAAH!"

"GYAAAAAHHH!!" I scream, sitting bolt upright. I find him sitting near where my head had once laid, looking pleased.

"Why you little--"

There is a loud knocking on the other side of the wall. "Oi! Yusuke! Quiet down, others are tryin' to get some sleep!"

I scowl at Puu. "You hear that? SOME people are trying to sleep. Mainly, ME!" I glance at my clock. It is still six o'clock. I don't go to school until seven. Chee...one more hour to sleep...and Puu is making me miss it!

I glare at him. "Listen to me, you crazy sonofabitch, if you don't pipe down, I'm gonna do something I'm probably gonna regret later, so SHUT UP!!"

His loud cries suddenly silence. I grin. "Well, that did it." I go back to sleep.

Then, I feel it.

The crazy thought that enters my mind.

...I just want you to talk to me...

My eyes fly open and I turn to him. Is it my imagination, or are there tears on the creature's eyes?

...Please?...

"Damned Puu," I snap, sitting up. "You want to talk? We'll talk all morning, if you want! Whaddaya wanna know? My mom? Keiko? My dad?"

He stares up to me solemnly. I suddenly begin to yak about so many things, anything. About my life, about my studies, about the missions given to me by Koenma...

I stop in the middle of talking and realize something.

"Hey, it's kinda fun...talking to someone who's willing to listen." I frown. "You know, Puu, when you first arrived, I still remember it so very vividly. I really thought you were some monster who's ready to eat us and stuff...you know, we were at the Ankoku Bujutsukai then."

I stroke his ears thoughtfully. "Sometimes, I can't believe I threw that egg to save Keiko. I mean, it'd have saved her yakking my head of, ne?"

"Paah," he says solemnly.

"Yeah, well...it gives the feeling of satisfaction. Saving someone...I didn't care then about myself, only about her. Chee..."

I glance around, as if looking for someone who might be listening. Of course, I find none. "D'you know something, Puu? You're okay. I mean...for some unknown species, you're fine in my book. Don't tell anyone about this, ne? Our little secret."

His head bobs up and down. Is he nodding?

I ponder about it for a while, then decided, Naaaahh...

"Anyway, do you know that I used to be a good student? I just can't remember when I stopped being one...probably because everyone looks on the tough people much better. Probably because I don't one to be like one of those dopey people."

I stop. "Oh, yeah, I remember now. Kurama's a smart student...yet he's not dopey. Actually, he's pretty cool. Hiei's cool, too...silent and mysterious. I probably should've built that image a long time ago, and get a little respect from other people. But with Keiko around...I just get my head bashed...so no chance at that.

"Kuwabara, on the other hand, is an okay person, I guess. But he's too...weird. Too impulsive." I watch Puu's reaction. He seems to frown, and I feel something come over me...guilt. "Hai, hai, I guess I AM impulsive, too. But...you know what I mean--"

I watch him. Probably he does. After all, we ARE a connection.

"My Mom doesn't really care about me. Well, there was this time when I died and I watched her. She was crying all over the place...I thought she cared." I sneak a glance to the wall, where I know leads to her room. "And then there was this time when I came back to life and she woke me up just to see if I was breathing and stuff..."

I sigh and continue to stroke his ear thoughtfully. "Maybe she DOES care, ne?" I give him a sharp glance. "What do YOU think?"

Suddenly, I realize something else. I groan. "Oh my GOD, I'm talking to a creature that doesn't even talk!" I fall back on my bed.

Puu lands on my face, but I don't care. God, I am SO incredibly STUPID!!

"But still," I mutter, my voice muffled against Puu's belly, "it WAS kinda nice to talk to someone, ne?"

"Pluuuuu!" he agrees, flapping his ears (I decide they're ears) and flying around the room.

I grin at him. "Puu, I decided...and you're okay."

He lands on my bed and we grin at each other. Puu can grin. He can, I believe it.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock. "URAMESHI, GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF THAT ROOM NOW!!"

It was Keiko.

I look at my clock. "Ohmigod! It's seven-fifteen!" I immediately throw on my school uniform and, in less than ten minutes, was out the door.

Keiko glances at me, then glances at Puu, who landed on my head.

"Shoo! Go away!" I shout, waving my hand on my head. He CAN'T come to school, and I can't seem to put that inside his thick head.

Keiko slaps my hands away. "Don't do that to Puu!"

Puu puts on his most pathetic look and landed on Keiko's outstretched arms. Keiko giggled. "You're so cute, you know!" She drops a kiss on Puu's...cheek?

I watch, amused, as Puu turned from his color blue to red. He flapped his ears and went back to my room. I didn't need to close the door. When I come home, he'll still be there, waiting patiently.

Keiko glares at me. "Come on, Urameshi! We have to go to school. We're late already!" She walks on ahead of me.

I turn back to Puu and grin.

Could have I just imagined it?

Did...did Puu really...wink?