Winds of Thyme

By Sakura Takanouchi

~*~ Winds of Thyme Chapter Three- A solution? Nah, it's only chapter Three! ~*~

Disclaimer: Okay. I'm gonna try to make this short. I don't own anything! Send me stuff!

Yusuke was walking down the streets of Tokyo. He had decided to leave Kuwabara behind, as he was still ranting that the masked figure was a girl. Yusuke shrugged. He had more important things on his mind. He opened the door to the Yukimura ramen shop and walked inside.

~*~In Reikai~*~

Kurama walked calmly through the hallway to Koenma's office. He wanted to see that image again. He was curious, and maybe his sharp kitsune eyes could pick up something in the screen if he stared at it long enough. That was how he got most of his ideas, anyway. And he wasn't sure whether or not to believe Kuwabara or not... He knew Hiei and Yusuke didn't care, and Kuwabara... well, Kuwabara was Kuwabara, but he wanted to know who it was that was secretly helping them. Maybe he could convince that person to join the reikai tantei.

"Pass! Pass! Pass! Pass!" Was what Kurama heard as he entered Koenma's office.

"Koenma sir, can you spare a minute?" Kurama asked politely, not wanting to interrupt his work.

"Oh, sure, Kurama, just wait a moment," He replied, handing a big stack of papers to George, his ever-so-faithful blue ogre. "Here," He said roughly to George. "What did you want?"

"Well, I was hoping to take a look at that tape of yours again. And, on our next mission, I would like to have permission to stay here and watch the camera," Kurama said.

"Oh, sure," Koenma responded, and grabbed the remote, being careful not to press the Jazzercise button. The same image popped up onto the screen. Kurama motioned for everyone to be quiet, and then he bent down very close to the screen. He stared at it and only moved to follow the movements of the person on the screen. He also watched it when he threw the shuriken.

"Hm...," he said, getting up to look at Koenma. "It seems that I still am not sure about this fighter, but I cannot rule out Kuwabara's suggestions," he finished.

"Some help you are," The toddler said, and Kurama left, feeling like he had accomplished nothing from coming there. 'Maybe I should think of this like Hiei,' he thought. 'After all, he is making our jobs easier.' But his thoughts could not rest.

~*~ In a random tree, in a random park ~*~

Hiei sat back into the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes. This tree was a bit more comfortable than the ones in the other park in Tokyo. He was also watching a girl out of the corners of his eyes. He had seen her with Kurama one time after school, but had yet to ask him about her. She was watching some fish swim around in a small pond. She then turned to look at some flowers. She pulled a sketchbook out of her bookbag and started a rough sketch of a fence that had roses on it. Hiei stared at the sketch. It was pretty good, if a ningen was drawing it. He shifted his weight a little while in the tree, and this gave away enough of a sound to alert Sakura. She stood up and looked around, her gaze finally setting on Hiei.

"What are you doing there?" She asked. "And why were you staring at me?" But a moment later, he was gone. Sakura sighed, and started to walk towards her apartment.

~*~ School ~*~

"Okay!" Sakura yelled as she spiked the ball over the net. Despite her short size, she could jump pretty high. Her team was winning, and some people had started to watch them play. She wiped her forehead off, and then checked her watch. Gym class was about to end. She gathered her stuff and headed for the locker rooms to change back into her school uniform.

She stopped by her locker again, taking a Geometry book from it, and putting back a Science book. She then paused, and said, "Why must you keep coming here?"

"You're saying it like it's a bad thing," Kurama answered, and then Sakura turned to look at him. "Do you enjoy stalking me or something?" She asked again. "Shall I walk you home?" He asked, although it really wasn't a question.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" She asked, closing her locker and allowing Kurama to accompany her home. They walked through a park on the way there, like they did the first time he walked her home.

~*~ The park ~*~

"You know, the strangest thing happened about several days ago," Sakura tried to start a conversation. "What was it?" He asked. "Well, I was walking through here from my job, and then I saw a fence, and so I decided to sketch them. Then I saw someone staring at me. He was short, and wore all black, so it was hard to see his face. I called out to him, and then he was gone," she informed him. "Ah... I wonder who it could be?" He said, immediately thinking of Hiei.

"Well, here's your apartment," Kurama said as they came to a stop in front of her apartment. "Arigato, Shuiichi-kun, for walking me home," She said, then tensed. "It is alright if I call you that, right?"

"Hai, it's fine," He said. She walked through the door and disappeared into her apartment. Kurama sighed. He was getting nowhere. All he was earning was a reputation as a stalker. He walked to his own house, but was interrupted by a short fire demon.

"Who is she?" Hiei asked.

"Her name's Takanouchi Sakura. She's new at my school, and I thought I'd show her around," Kurama said defensively. "It was you, right? She said she saw someone watching her at the park."

"Hn," Hiei replied, and the two went their seperate ways. Hiei had a feeling that he'd be seeing a lot more of her in the future.

~A/N~

Getting more exiting, ne? Well, review and tell me whether I should continue writing this or not. Although it's summer and I have a ton of time on my hands, I have several more well-known fanfiction that take far less time to write. Well, keep on reading and reviewing!

Cherries and Chocolate,

Sakura Takanouchi