Winds of Thyme

By Sakura Takanouchi

~*~ Winds of Thyme Chapter Two- The Problem ~*~

Disclaimer: Just to let you know, the titles of everything in this will probably have no resemblance whatsoever to the actual plot. But work with me here. Oh, I get it. I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho! So that's what you're wanting from me! Well you can't have it! It's mine! ALL MINE! Wait... I never owned it in the first place...

"So, if you have the problem 3x=18, what is the value of x?" The math teacher's voice droned on and on.

"Uh... Miss Takanouchi?"

"x=6," came the voice from the corner of the room. Then, the classroom started buzzing as people started talking.

"Whoa, did you hear that?"

"That's the third time today she's answered and gotten it right," "She could be the smartest in this class,"

The only one not talking was a redhead in the opposite corner of the room. Kurama didn't want to be second best. He knew his kaasan didn't mind as long as he tried, but he had his ego, and he didn't want his reputation tarnished.

"Oh, and... I have your test scores back," The teacher said, passing back the tests, and pausing to speak to the class.

"We had two people make the highest this time. They both got perfect scores. The classroom started buzzing again. He wrote two names on the board. 'Minamino Shuiichi- 100% and Takanouchi Sakura- 100%.'

Sakura felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks as she was bombarded with questions such as-

"Will you help me study?" and

"You tied with Kurama!" Except that last one wasn't a question. The people closest to Shuiichi still asked him for study help, but Sakura was often surrounded by people. He was still intrigued. Ever since she came to their school, he hadn't gotten any time to speak with her privately. She was always with someone.

After class was over, Sakura went to her locker to get her books that were necessary for her classes after lunch. She was suprised to find a note in her locker. It simply read, 'I will meet you at your locker after school.' Sakura wondered who it was that sent the note, but she had a long time to wait, and as she left her locker, she was once again surrounded by people.

Lunch went as expected, and so did recess. If you could call it recess. All she did was sit and read a book, while other students went and asked her for school help. She was happy to help, but always returned to her book afterwards. She always had a slight smile when she read, too. Kurama was staring at her while he and some of his friends were playing basketball. His team was winning, of course. It was him and Ryuzo versus two of the kids from another class. Almost everyone was watching, well, everyone except Sakura. When he scored the winning basket, his 'fans' burst into applause, but Sakura just got up and left for her next class. It intrigued him even further.

The school day was over, and after spending 15 minutes in the library, Sakura left, but stopped by her locker to get some of her books, and to see if anyone was there. When she turned to the hallway her locker was on, no one was there, which surprised her. She went to her locker anyway to get the books she needed, but then she heard a voice coming from behind her.

"So you came after all," the voice said.

"Should I not have?" She asked.

"Hmm... That is for you to decide," The voice continued. Sakura had enough with the 'mystery dude' thing and turned around. What she saw shocked her.

It was Minamino Shuiichi leaning against the wall. He smiled at her, while she blinked in confusion. "Did you want to talk to me?" She asked.

"Yes and No," He answered. "Mind if I walk you home?"

"Yes and No," She used his words back against him. "Well, let's go then," She said, grabbing her jacket from her locker. She put it on, and together they walked out of school and towards the park, where Sakura happened to live nearby.

"So, how did you come to Tokyo?" Kurama asked as they strolled through a small garden of flowers and cherry trees.

"Oh, I moved here on my own," She said. "Where are your parents?" Kurama asked again.

"Oh, my mother died at my birth, and my father died when I was 10. I moved here because I could not live at the shrine he owned any longer, and I heard there was a good school here," She answered. Kurama suddenly felt very sorry for Sakura, having to live all alone.

"Aren't you lonely? How do you support yourself?" He asked again. Sakura smiled at him.

"I get enough money from the government for being a good student and living alone to rent a small apartment and pay bills. I have a weekend job at a Yakitori shop to raise money for food. Plus, I get free Yakitori," She answered. That made Kurama feel a little bit better about her condition.

They soon reached her house, and Kurama bid her goodbye, but not before giving her a white rose. "Thank you, it's beautiful!" She said in delight, and then went into her apartment. Kurama sighed, and then started walking towards his own home. He didn't figure out all he wanted to know from her, but it was a start.

~*~ On a mission ~*~

"Darn, Why can't he save a piece of the pie for us?" Yusuke said in amazement as they approached their would-be victims in disdain. Hiei kicked one of the demon's feet, and Kurama looked around. Kuwabara scratched his head in confusion. "I told you Urameshi it's a girl!" He said. This made Yusuke start laughing again.

Back in Reikai, Koenma was watching all of this on his TV. "Why can't we get there in time?" He wondered. Little did he realize that there was a cloaked figure standing on a tree branch just far away to see what was going on. Then, it disappeared into the forest.

~A/N~

Yay! Another chapter updated! I don't really have anything to say, except I probably won't put in a vocabulary thing in this fic for all of the Japanese that I use. If you don't know what they mean, you can look them up. And if you do, then you can say them at home to impress family and friends. Or just classify yourself as a loser, or a gaijin, whichever you prefer.

Everyone's Favorite Rabid Fangirl Sakura Takanouchi

(! !) ß Kirby- Shake it to the left!