Happy Independence Day, everyone! I know this is a little late, sadly. It is nearly midnight… Just a break from my other fanfic, please check it out and it'd be great if you could review both!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor anything else besides the actual writing and my character Thyme.

It had been a while since Kurama had seen Thyme. She had an American school to go to, unlike him. He had followed through with what he had told Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko and Shizuru. He had taken over his father's company, not going to university. He, of course, had stayed in Japan. Kurama was starting to get bored yet again when a peppy knock sounded from the door.

Speak of the devil and there she is. He crossed to the door and opened it, revealing Thyme and Alexa.

"Kurama? How am I the devil?" Thyme teased.

"You two are demons. Close enough." Kurama joked. "Come inside. What's the occasion?"

The look on Thyme's face was a strange mix of confused and startled. "What's the occasion, Kurama? Really? You…Don't know the occasion?"

Kurama shook his head, slightly irritated.

"Well…It is Japan after all…" Thyme sighed. "Kurama, it's July Fourth. Independence Day in the States. You know, the day we were freed from England? I was thinking to go get Hiei after this, get back to the United States, and, I don't know, watch a parade or some fireworks or something. I know Alexa and I have a talent show to get to."

"Two questions. What are you doing and how are you going to keep Hiei entertained?"

Thyme winced, twice. "Um, Alexa and I are both singing and…Hiei just made it clear he's not going."

Raising an eyebrow, Kurama asked, " 'made it clear?'"

"Um, he…thought, I guess…to me that he was not going. Exact words: 'who would want to see a bunch of idiots showing their so-called 'talent'? Or, even more common, exploding things?' He doesn't want to go."

"I'd say that too, only I'm American and I'm one of those performing idiots." Alexa said.

"Let's go then!" Thyme exclaimed.

The air split, and the three left to another world.

When things calmed down, Kurama questioned why they were there.

"We're here because it's faster than walking, driving, swimming, or flying. Alexa and I have a deadline to make. It starts at 1:00. We have to be there now, so we know the order of the acts and so we can change. When we get there, we'll go backstage. I hate doing this to you, but you should probably just wait fifteen minutes. Cheer for us!" The air tore again, and suddenly they were outside a building.

They entered the building, where Thyme and Alexa separated from him. Kurama looked around the building at the hasty, festive decorations. At least he was wearing white and blue, people will think he did it on purpose to compliment his hair and match the American flag. Entering the auditorium, Kurama was stunned by the amount of red, white, and blue humans could cram into a room. Deciding to spare his eyes, Kurama dozed while people were filling in the seats. When the announcer started the show though, even he was surprised by some of the acts. Of course, there were…Other acts. He didn't even need his basic grasp of English, all he needed was his human experience. No matter where we are in the world, celebration is always the same. Thyme unexpectedly replied. Isn't it? I'll bet that whenever there are holidays in Japan, there's the same kind of thing. I won't accept that bet. Make sure to watch, we're on next! The connection broke as the two ran onstage to the applause.

Each took a mic, and Thyme sang. After each had alternately sung two verses, the high soprano and the rich alto combined their voices and sang two more. Finally, the audience joined in for the last repetition of the first verse. O Beautiful, for spacious skies… The last note hung in the air for a split second before the audience broke into applause. The two left the way they came in. Other acts performed, and soon it was time for the judging.

"The winning act is…" The announcer shouted. "Alexa Scarlet and Thyme Fey for their patriotic singing!" Thyme laughed, while Alexa rolled her eyes and allowed herself a smile.

The rest of the day flew past in a blur of the classic red, white and blue. Several more inter-worldly trips occurred until Kurama found himself on the beach. The curl of Cape Cod was clearly visible, despite the light rain and heavy clouds. From both sides, there were cracks as fireworks flew. They sat in the warm, summer, bay-side ocean with her eyes closed, enjoying the water from above and below.

"God shed his grace on America, from sea to shining sea, right Kurama?" Red, white, blue flashed, reflecting off his green eyes.

"Correct." Kurama smiled. "Thyme?"

"Mm?"

"Happy Independence Day."