I felt like I had a big fleece blanket wrapped around my brain, making it so that it was hard to think. So sleepy, I thought, my eyebrows furrowing as I turned over. And yet every second I was slowly waking up, coming back to reality. The more I became more alert, the harder it became to fall back asleep. I was restless, random and yet important thoughts popping into my mind. Need to record that new song…don't forget to take out the trash…make sure Crin doesn't fill the pool up with chocolate...don't stop breathing…

Wait, don't stop breathing? What kind of concern was that?

Then I remembered everything. The trap, Kazuza, Temdan, Tegu, the crash, drowning…

I was dead.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead, dead, dead, dead!

My eyes flashed open, expecting to see…well, I wasn't sure what I expected to see. What I saw was my bedroom.

What in the world was going on? Was I dead? I briefly remembered the last time I'd died. I'd taken a trip back to a part of my past. Was this like that? Was I experiencing a part of my past?

I slowly turned over as I tried to think about what to do now…and came face to face with Crin. "GAAAH!" I shouted, almost falling off the bed. "You…you…you didn't…"

Crin, who had this blank expression on her face before, suddenly broke out into the same smile I remembered. "Slumber parties sure are eventful, aren't they? Teehee!" She giggled before continuing on with a more serious tone. "No, you aren't dead. I wouldn't have let you die."

I was still trying to get my bearings back. "I'm….not….dead?" I muttered, "Did you…."

"I…" Crin started, obviously reading what I was about to say, answered, "I'm not sure how to explain what happened. I don't even know myself."

Just after she'd said, "I'm not", I stopped listening. I concentrated more on the recollection of what I'd been dreaming about before I'd started to wake up…

"CRIN!" I shouted, bolting up in bed, surprising her.

"Really, Takiko; I don't know how to explain it to myself, I haven't gotten the answers yet…"

"No, no, no, no…not that. I had this….this vivid dream. It started with the chopper crash…I was in the water, trying to get out…I kept thinking about how I'd failed in my mission. I thought about how I'd failed to bring Limdo back and...you know, I've never called for his help since the night I killed Ziyi. I didn't call for him, but I still remember wishing to see him once more…and then….darkness. It surrounded me. I was cold, so cold…and then suddenly I was warm. I was secure. I thought surely I was dead, but the next thing I knew, I could feel his lips on mine…it was so vivid, even though I know that it isn't possible. You saved me, didn't you?" I turned my wide eyes on her to find her looking down at the mattress with the same blank expression. "What's wrong? You don't think I've gone completely insane, do you?" I questioned cautiously.

Crin shook her head and closed her eyes, not allowing me to read the emotion she was feeling in her eyes. "It's real, Takiko."

I blinked at her, my still foggy mind not allowing me to process what she was saying. "What are you talking about? My insanity is real? You really do think I'm insane?"

"Not today," Crin couldn't help but smile, but it quickly vanished. She took a deep, calming breath. "He's back, Takiko. I don't know how, all I know is the second the chopper hit the water, there was this blinding light and then…he was there. He saved you. He pulled you out and got you to cough out the water."

I stared at her, my mind going completely blank. "What….do you….mean?" I whispered, but I wasn't really aware I was saying the words. "You…he….how…?"

"I don't know, I told you. He hasn't said anything about it." Crin said again, slowly opening her eyes but keeping them fixed on the mattress.

"Where is he?" I demanded after a pause. My voice was now fierce and demanding. If he really was here….if he was really home….I wanted to see him. I wanted to hold him in my arms, feel his lips on mine…

"He's asleep. The world of the Gods isn't really a place for humans. He's pretty drained. I'm surprised that he even had the strength to rescue you, much less stand."

Before she'd finished the sentence, I'd jumped out of bed and was heading for the door. "Where are you going?" Crin demanded, and there was a hint of something in her voice that I couldn't quite detect.

"I'm going to go see him." I replied as I opened the door. The moment I said that, however, a gust of wind blowing from behind me slammed the door shut. When I tried to open it again, it wouldn't budge. I scowled and whirled on Crin. "What do you think you're doing?" I snapped, starting to get angered with her.

Crin was now glaring at me, but her eyes weren't red. "He's asleep, Takiko. I just told you, he's exhausted. Let him be; you can have your little love-dove reunion when he wakes up. But don't wake him up; he needs to get some rest." I glared back at her for a long time as her words sank in. She had a very good point, but I wished she didn't. All I wanted was to run from the room, track him down and jump into his arms.

I sighed and went back to the bed. "You're right," I grumbled irritably.

"I usually am," Crin giggled.

I sat there, looking around at my…soon to be our room. I didn't care about what Genbu wanted; for once, I wanted to do what I wanted to. I was going to marry Limdo and do whatever I wanted. If Genbu wanted to kick me out, fine. Technically he was a fictional character anyways. He hadn't been made real like Limdo and the other warriors had. "I probably smell like crap," I mumbled to Crin.

"Yup,"

"Then I should probably go take a shower and do something productive while waiting, huh?"

"Probably," Crin answered. I stood and started to walk to my bathroom door. Just before walking into the bathroom, I stopped and turned back to Crin. "Are you ok?" I questioned cautiously.

Crin stared down at her lap, the same blank expression on her face. When I spoke, she nodded. "I'll be fine," she promised, "Just go make yourself smell good."

I smiled at her before turning back and walking into the bathroom.

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Hours later, I plucked at the keys of my grand piano, not really playing anything specific. I'd start a song but then I'd switch to another one after a few measures. Since I'd woken up, I'd taken a long, hot shower; blow dried and styled my hair into soft curls. When I got done with that, I decided to go downstairs where I was questioned by pretty much everyone –except Toroki, who hadn't been on the little 'trip' with us and had obviously heard about Limdo's return and now sat on the couch, skulking—questioned me about Limdo's return. I assured them I didn't know anything about it and that I was just as anxious –if not more so—to hear about it.

I then proceeded to watch TV. I quickly got bored of that, so I tried a movie, which also didn't work. I then played Kay on Guitar Hero for a while, but I soon wasn't in the mood for that either.

Tomite, bless his soul, tried to make my favorite foods for me to keep my mind occupied. I ate it, but I didn't taste it. All I could think about was, once again, Limdo and when he'd wake up.

How long did he have to sleep? I wondered as I changed the song again, he never slept this much. Was he sick? Or…was he even still there?

I started to become depressed. Maybe I should have checked on him, made sure that Genbu hadn't taken him away the moment I decided to defy his wishes.

"Are you crying?" A familiar feminine voice asked, filled with surprise. "I thought you'd be happy about him coming home." I looked up into the green eyes of Crin. I hadn't noticed her come in, and I quickly noticed that I had also stopped playing the piano. I scooted over, giving her room to sit down next to me.

"I am…I was just thinking that….I was kind of worried that maybe…." I started, but Crin interrupted me as she sat down.

"He's still there, I promise. I checked." She smiled weakly and patted my shoulder. "Play something for me." She ordered after a moment.

I was silent for a moment, staring at the white ivory keys. "Ok," I whispered, putting my fingers on the keys again and starting to play.

For a long time, Crin only listened, saying nothing. As I started to get to the climax of the song, Crin asked, "This isn't going to do anything to our friendship, is it?" I stopped playing and looked at her with surprised, wide eyes.

"Limdo's return?" I questioned. Crin hesitated, but nodded, a small blush rising on my cheeks. "What do you mean, Crin?"

It was obvious that Crin never usually talked about her deep feelings like this, because it took her a long time to finally get started. "Well, I'm glad that he came back, because it's obvious that you two can't survive without each other. I was surprised you made it so long without him. I don't think he could have done that. But either way, it's just that…you and I became pretty close friends. And you know that once you get married, I can't stick by your side all of the time. You're going to devote yourself to him and him to you, and…"

"You feel left out," I clarified, finishing up her thought for her. Crin hesitated and then nodded, confirming it. I stared at her, in complete disbelief. "Crin, just because I'm getting married doesn't mean that I'd ever replace you. Yes, I love Limdo with all of my heart. But you're my best friend. No boy could ever touch my love for you. I don't know about you, but I plan for us to stay extremely close to you and Tomite. Tomite is Limdo's best friend anyways." I chuckled, "I don't know how you're going to handle that, because you know that they'll want to do things together. But you and I can have a slumber party while they're doing their manly stuff." I winked at her and Crin instantly brightened.

"Yay for slumber parties!" Crin giggled, obviously having gotten over the 'left out' thing. "But just letting you know, I might actually kidnap you just for fun, ok?"

I rolled my eyes but I couldn't help but smile at her. I was about to reply "Sure Crin, we'll see about that," But another extremely familiar voice interrupted her. "And I'll be right there to rescue her."

The moment I heard his voice, I tried to do two things at once; I bolted up from the piano bench and at the same time I tried to run forward. I hardly got glimpse of him as my foot caught around one of the legs off the bench, sending me sprawling towards the floor. I'd been trying to say Limdo's name, but I ended up making it sound like, ""LIM-DAAAAH!" as I fell.

Before I hit the ground—as I was sure I would—two strong arms grabbed me and gently lowered me and pulled me into the owner's lap.

Limdo.

At first I was horribly embarrassed that I'd been so klutzy. I hadn't done something as stupid as tripping for a long time, and the embarrassment was strengthened by the fact that I'd done it right in front of Limdo. But I quickly squashed the feeble feelings and hoping that I was no longer blushing, I looking up into Limdo's face.

He looked the same as I remembered him. His piercing silver eyes bore into mine, his lips were partly open from the mad dash he'd taken to keep me from hitting the floor, and his brown and black hair slightly covered his eyes. But his expression is what really made me melt; his expression was as soft as ever—he'd only ever been that soft around me—and every inch of him told me that he loved me.

Before I could stop myself, I threw my arms around his neck and started to bawl into his shoulder. Every hidden emotion that had gone through my body in the last six months poured out right there with every heart wrenching sob.

I was holding him again. He was real. That whole day, I realized, I hadn't grasped the reality of his return. He was here again, holding me tightly, whispering comforting reassurances that he was there and that he wasn't ever going to leave me again.

But how did he know? I wondered; how did either of us know that Genbu wasn't going to take him away again? The question suddenly overpowered my thoughts and I pulled away from his shoulder to ask, but as soon as my face was away from his shoulder, Limdo's hands went to my cheeks, brushing away the tears from my face as he leaned in and kissed me passionately.

Well, every thought from my mind totally blanked out of my head.

I found myself kissing him back, my lips passionately and desperately moving against his, my arms pulling him tighter against me. Oh, how I'd longed for this again….how much I'd missed his lips moving against mine…

Then the question popped into my mind again; how long would this last? The moment I remembered, I pulled away, both of us sucking in air into our lungs. As Limdo went back for another round of kissing, I stopped him. "Wait, Limdo; hold on just a second." Limdo paused, waiting for me to go on. "I…how…" I struggled for words and then blurted out the first question that came to mind, "How are you here? I thought Genbu said…"

Limdo shook his head, "Never mind what Genbu said; things have changed."

"How have they changed?" I asked again, suddenly becoming more worried.

"I'll explain it when the others are around to hear it too; I don't want to repeat myself."

I was irritated, "No, I want to know." My voice was firm, showing that I wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Limdo searched my eyes with his for a moment before he sighed. "I made a deal with him," He told me.

Uncertainty once again flared inside me as I breathed out, "What sort of a deal?" I asked cautiously, and I found myself both anxious and dreading to hear the answer.

Limdo shrugged, "It's…not a big deal. I promise I'll tell you when the others are around to hear it." I frowned; I didn't like that answer. It meant that he knew I wasn't going to like it. But before I could protest against it, Limdo asked, "So what, exactly, have you been doing these past…uh, six months?"

I was suddenly frozen. I stared at him, slightly aware that I had a very alarmed expression on my face. I knew for a fact that he wasn't going to like this, not one bit. I knew it before I'd done all the stuff I'd done, and I knew eventually I'd have to tell him about it. But I had no idea how hard it would be. What was I going to tell him? How was I supposed to tell him I'd put my life constantly in danger?

Instead of answering his question, I shot one of my own. "You say six months as though you don't know how long it's been," It wasn't really a question, I knew, but it served the same purpose.

Limdo looked a little irritated that I was avoiding his question, but at the same time he looked a little ashamed. "Time in the world of the gods passes differently than the real world. Kind of like the book. What may be six months for you were only a few moments for me." I knew than any other person would have been mad that the other hadn't gone through the same amount of pain and longing that they had, but I wasn't feeling that at all. I was more relieved that he hadn't suffered for so long. I knew he was upset and hurt just as I was for those few moments, and that was enough. I would have rather him have not suffered at all than for him to have suffered. "You didn't answer my question, Takiko." His stern voice interrupted my momentary relief, making me groan.

"You aren't going to like it." I told him.

His expression was serious, "I figured when Crin said you'd… 'changed'." Inwardly I cursed; I was going to kill her for that.

"Promise you won't be mad?" I asked, although I knew my chances of him not getting mad were slim.

"I'll see what I can do," Limdo replied, making me flinch. In other words; "I'll try, but I'm not going to promise anything."

I gulped and peered down at my intertwined fingers in my lap. "Well…I don't really know where to start…"

"Take your time," Limdo sounded like he was bracing himself for whatever came out of my mouth. Yeah, he was so not going to like what I was about to say.

"Well…um…I bought a gun." I could feel him tense instantly and I flinched, waiting for him to get angry. But he said nothing. He really was trying not to get angry with me. "And uh…well, Ziyi, Feiyan and…Hagus attacked me and…well, lets just say Ziyi's dead now." I didn't want to explain exactly how Ziyi had died, but Limdo was obviously curious.

"How did he die?" although he was curious, at the same time I could hear the caution in his voice. He definitely knew that something was up.

"Oh…he just kind of….um….died." I smiled at him innocently, and he frowned, his eyes tight, but he pressed the matter no further.

"Did you get hurt?" I knew he'd ask that. I also knew he'd be extremely angry when I told him.

"I…uh….um….broke….ah….my….um…..ribs," I whispered it, but he heard it loud and clear, apparently.

"What?" Limdo hissed, his anger finally showing through, "You….you broke what? You broke your RIBS?" His hands instantly went to my sides, probably checking for said broken ribs.

"Limdo, I'm fine, really. I didn't even need to go to a hospital! They're fully healed now and they don't even hurt anymore…well, right now they do because…" I saw the look of worry, anger and despair on Limdo's face and instantly stopped talking. "I'm getting ahead of myself. Do you want me to continue? I told you that you weren't going to like it."

Limdo was hesitant for a while, still upset over the fact that yes, I'd gotten hurt when he wasn't around, but nevertheless he nodded his head. "Well…we came back to America, finished high school…oh, and by the way, I quit my job."

Limdo stared at me as though I was nuts. "You….quit your job?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I just got it back. Just though I'd let you know. Anyways, so we graduated and I—brace yourself Limdo—I left the house."

Limdo blinked at me, obviously not sure what I meant by that. "You 'left the house'?" He clarified.

"Yeah; we moved the girls into this house while the boys have the apartment and…after graduation, I just felt like I needed time to myself to find the warriors. So…I just left. I kept in touch of course…"

"Wait a second, you…you left? As in…without a warrior with you? You didn't even drag Crin along with you?" Limdo sounded more overwhelmed now, as though he wasn't sure what exactly to say or think.

"No…Crin was actually pretty pissed about that. But I did find Hatsui on the border of Mexico, and I didn't get hurt!" I reasoned. Limdo said nothing; instead he looked more dazed than anything. "But Crin found me and we brought Hatsui back. I got my job back, found a few more Byakko warriors, and –brace yourself Limdo," Limdo tensed, which was how I assumed he braced himself, "Crin taught me how to fight."

"SHE DID WHAT?" Limdo was obviously mad now. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, she taught me how to fight. I can't always be protected, Limdo; that fact has been proven many times. I'm tired of feeling defenseless when those times come."

Limdo was now shooting his own questions. "If you could protect yourself, how in the world did my father get to you?"

"He didn't. Kazuza did. But we planned for that to happen, because…"

"Because why?" He demanded.

"Because I didn't know what else to do to hunt them down so that I could get Tegu back and therefore get Hagus to come back!" I answered, "Don't you understand? When you were taken away from me, I didn't know what to do! I thought that there wasn't a point to anything I was doing! But then Crin and I figured that if we did what Genbu wanted we'd be able to get you back! So I did everything I could to find everyone, and that included getting Hagus and Tegu! Yeah, it was a risky plan. It worked until Temdan got in the way…"

"I'm seriously going to kill him for everything he's done to you," Limdo snarled.

I ignored that and continued on. "But now you're back…I'm not sure I understand how you got back, but still. I'm not sure all of this is real…" Limdo suddenly leaned in and kissed me, evaporating all of the tense emotions that had built up between us. The moment he pulled away, I shook my head. "Lets not talk about this anymore. I just want to be with you right now."

Limdo pecked my lips again before he sighed. "I should probably give the explanation to everyone though. Then I'll spend some more alone time with you."

I sighed and nodded. I didn't want to share him with anyone else, but I also knew that the others deserved an explanation. Frankly, even I wanted to hear this 'explanation' of his.

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Limdo sat down at the head of the long table in the meeting room, his face no longer as soft as it was when he was around just me. I scooted a bit closer to him and under the table he grasped my hand in his and squeezed it.

We looked at the other warriors who looked back at Limdo curiously. Limdo cleared his throat. "Hey guys," he greeted, "long time no see," no answer from anyone else. The atmosphere was tense and no one knew exactly what to say. Crin was on my other side, her green eyes intent on Limdo. Even she wanted to know what exactly was going on.

"I suppose you're all wondering how and why I'm here," Limdo started. Beside me, Crin rolled her eyes as if to say, 'no duh, stupid'. I didn't think Crin would ever really like Limdo. She'd stand him just because I loved him, but that didn't mean that she had to like him.

"After Genbu took me away, I instantly started to argue with the four gods. They merely ignored me, so I started to bargain with them. And we did come to a decision. What I'd…" He stopped, giving my hand another squeeze and his eyes darting to mine, "we'd benefit from is that I can stay and we can get married and enjoy all of the benefits of marriage before she summons the gods."

"Really?" I exclaimed, my eyes wide with amazement. "They really agreed to that?" I couldn't believe my ears. I had never heard of them ever giving something like that up. What was the catch, though?

"Yes; but there's a catch, one that I was willing to make in order to come back and be with you." He was no longer addressing mostly the warriors; now he mostly addressed me. "In order for all that to happen, the moment we're done with the summoning, I must give up all of my powers."

Dead silence passed over all of us as we processed his words. "You're….powers? As in….you won't be able to use wind after we summon the gods?" Crin asked in disbelief, "Man, you really are a stupid man."

Limdo rolled his eyes. "Whatever Crin, whatever you say. My powers, although they are important to me because I can protect not only myself but others, are still not as important as my love for Takiko. The deals already made anyways, and it was my choice; I don't regret it at all."

"So that's why you said that you'd never leave," I whispered.

Limdo nodded and squeezed my hand constantly. "Well, now that the deals made, I'd actually like to talk to Crin and Inami and ask if it's at all possible for us to get married in a week."

"A WEEK?!" I cried in disbelief. "I don't even think that's possible Limdo!"

"That's why I asked darling," Limdo reminded me with an amused smile.

Inami and Crin were already up and out of their seats. Crin was clapping her hands excitedly, singing "wedding, wedding, I love weddings!" over and over again while Inami was going on and on and on about how it was indeed possible and that how she'd been prepared for something this big and this fast for a while.

Limdo smiled appreciatively. "Thanks guys, we really do appreciate it. Could we start tomorrow?"

Inami frowned. "Well, we could, but that presses the time….but then again, we're all pretty tired and you two probably want to be alone…." Inami glared at the other warriors. "All of you leave now."

As everyone left—both Crin and Inami discussing wedding plans as they went out the door—I turned to look at Limdo. "Why a week?" I asked.

"Because when I was taken from you, we only had a week left till our wedding. If it was possible, I'd take you as mine right now. But I don't think Crin would appreciate a Vegas wedding." He opened his arms out to me and I immediately climbed into his lap, throwing my arms around him and cradling my head into his chest. "Do you wish to hold it off?" Limdo asked.

"No, no; I'm just thinking of how busy this week is going to be. There's invitations, decorations, pictures….the list goes on and on. But I suppose we don't need that big of an invite list. I don't really want to attract the attention of paparazzi…" Limdo silenced me by kissing me.

When he pulled away, he whispered, "I don't want to think about it tonight. All I want to do is hold you."

And we did just that.

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YAY LIMDO'S OFFICIALLY BACK! WHOO! Yeah, when Takiko tripped over the piano bench, I remembered the time when I was sitting on a stool at school and i triped and fell onto the concrete....it was funny.

Well anyways, this is the next chapter! Hope you liked it! I'll be writting the next one soon, so stand by!

Love

Alice

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