Ch12: Painful Memories

I found Kurama leaning against a cherry tree on a hill; he was just staring out at the ocean, no certain expression on his face.

"Hey," I greeted, standing by him. "Um, I'm sorry about earlier. I just got really...really-"

"Upset and angered?" he asked softly, still not looking me in the eye. I looked down at my feet, ashamed.

"Tyranda?" I looked up at his face, afraid of what he might say.

"I know... that you're mad at me, and I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."

"Stop. I should be apologizing, not you-"

"No, I should be apologizing. I never should have hid it from you," he interrupted again, walking to the beach; I followed him. I took off my sandals when the tide came up so I could stand in the ocean. The tide slowly went out again, and I got out of the sand with a loud squelch as my feet pulled out. I fell backward onto the wet, gooey sand. At first, I just sat there, a little shocked that I had fallen, then I started to laugh. Kurama didn't know what I was laughing about, so I threw some loose sand at him.

"What was that for!" he yelled. The tide suddenly came up in a high wave and knocked him down, while I was stuck in the sand up to my armpits and knees.

"Okay, I think Taya's following us again," I said, struggling to get out of the sand. Kurama kneeled down and pulled me out by the arms.

"Thanks," I muttered. I stood up to find a bunch of sand all over me, and I wasn't the only one who was covered. He simply brushed most of itoff and walked over to the cove.

"Just like old times, isn't it?" I asked, sitting by him.

"I suppose so..." he replied softly. My heart gave a nasty throb when I heard the sad, almost longing tone of his voice; and when I saw the look of sorrow in his normally bright emerald eyes. I knew immeadiatly what he was thinking about. Kuronue...How long has it been since you died? Taya is STILL torn up about you... I thought, staring up at the starry sky.

Flashback (I swear it's the last one!)

After the gorgeous wedding, I was never happier. Yoko and I were married; Kuronue had just proposed to Taya; and I was finally content with my life. Up until then, I hadn't had a happy life. I was sent around from family to family after Ronnoc went to the Flying High Junior High School, all of them abusive; three of them used me as a slave; five others as a maid and servant; and two hardly fed me anything at all because I was supposedly "unclean" since I wasn't a proper demon. At long last, one family took me in. It was Yoko's family. His dad had known how much in love Yoko and I were, so he didn't adopt me. I was like an extra family member that wasn't related at all, but I was glad to be in a loving family. However, Yoko's little sister didn't really like me at first, but she grew to like me as it I was a sister.

"Can you believe we're finally married?" I whispered to my new husband, my hand in his.

"Well, it was...unexpected, the way it ended, you know. Why on earth did my dad dump the punchbowl on his head, bowl and all? Nevermind that. I'm too glad I'm with you to worry," Yoko replied, his forehead against mine.

"Why did you put the honeymoon on a beach? I had fun and all, but I obtained an allergic reaction to the sandfleas," I asked.

"...erm...I didn't know..."

"That's okay, honey. I didn't know, either," I said, smiling gently. I gave him a soft kiss to cheer him up. "It's okay."


Three days later, Yoko came home. Without Kuronue. Without his long-time friend. I asked him where the noble (what?) chimera was.

"He's...he's gone..." the kitsune muttered, not looking at me. Taya, who had been in the kitchen, gasped the second he said those two words.

"H-how? Wait, wait, wait, backtrack a little here. Are you saying he...died?" I whispered, my voice choking. His golden eyes told me all I needed to know. Kuronue had been like a brother I never knew, and now? He was dead! D-E-A-D! I went into the kitchen to help Taya with dinner. I noticed that, even though she didn't cry, she had a pained expression. No one was hungry, even though everyone had had a busy day.

For the next several days, we didn't really talk to one another. One afternoon, Yoko disappeared suddenly after cleaning the kitchen. I searched for him late into the evening and found him sitting by a tree near a lake about three or four acres away from the house. His eyes were closed and the side of his face that I could see looked wet. He's been crying? That's unusual...I guess Kuronue' s death really took a toll on him... I thought, walking over and sitting by him.

"Yoko, sweetheart, are you at all okay?" I asked, not mentioning Kuronue. My husband sighed and looked up at the stars.

"I feel as if I could have saved him, even though we both knew he was doomed..." he muttered, more to himself than to me. I felt several tears slowly slip down my own cheeks; I, too, was sad, but not because of Kuronue: it was Yoko's own grief that made me cry so silently.

"Could you imagine seeing your best friend you've known for so long just die right in front of you? Almost as if there were something that

made them die just to make you feel weak?" I shook my head no. I rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. When I opened them again, I saw one of my tears grow into a crystalline, color-tinged flower.

"You've been asleep for about forty or fifty minutes now," whispered Yoko. I looked up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you, Yoko," I said softly, brushing a strand of hair out of his face.

"I love you, too, Tyranda," he said back. We kissed (EEWWWWW!) again, softly at first, then harder. My arms were behind his neck; his arms were behind my back.(I know that made absolutly no sense.) It was passionate, that kiss was. When we broke the kiss at the same time,

it began to rain so hard that we had to go back to the house. When we got there, I found a note from Taya on the coffee table. It said,

"Dear Serenity and Yoko,

I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly. Over the past few days I've fallen to pieces without Kuronue here, and if he and I had been meant to be, then I don't think he would've died. I'm going out to find someone new. I won't come back until I find someone. Once more, I'm sorry. I hope you two will live happily ever after.

Your friend,

Taya."

"I'm really going to miss her.." I whispered. In truth, I was really worried for my best friend. She had loved Kuronue to no end. And now...she's a wreck. An emotional wreck, torn by the death of a loved one. Anyways, Yoko and I were just happy to still have each other.

End of Flashback (That was really the last one!)