Winds of Thyme

By Sakura Takanouchi

~*~ Winds of Thyme Chapter Eight: A Bit of a Dream ~*~

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Get off my case about it, will ya?

Oh, and... Shuichi is letting his youko side out a bit more than usual, I guess. It's my excuse for him being out of character.

The first thing Sakura did wen she got to school was look around. Everywhere there was a bit of space on the wall there was a sign, saying, "Come to the Halloween Dance! The cost is five dollars, from seven-thirty to twelve! Party till ya drop! You can wear costumes! Sponsored by the Student Council." And on the bottom in small letters, it said, "Sign made by Kirina Yuzuriha." Sakura sighed.

"YO TAKANOUCHI!!!" Yuzuriha yelled as she came running across the hallway. "I take it you're enjoying my handiwork?" She asked.

"I didn't know you were on the student council," Sakura said, puzzled.

"I didn't know a lot of things," Yuzuriha started. "Until I learned them." This made Sakura even more puzzled.

"Why, hello, ladies. Having a good morning?" Kurama said.

"Yo, Shuiichi-kun!" Yuzuriha said. "See the sign?" She then made every point to have Kurama look at the sign.

"Yes, I'm sure it's very nice," He then inspected it closer and began to read aloud. "Come to the Halloween Dance... seven-thirty to twelve... sponsored by the student council..." He paused, and turned to Yuzuriha. "What about it?"

"You can go, right?" She asked. Kurama thought. "I guess so, but I'll have to ask kaasan,"

"I JUST HAD A GREAT IDEA!!!" Yuzuriha yelled again.

"I can see perfectly now why you were chosen to be on the student council," Sakura said jokingly.

"You can go with Sakura! Both of you have no life, right? I'm sure you'll both be there! I think up the best stuff!" Yuzuriha then began to chatter on and on about nothing. Kurama turned to Sakura.

"Is that alright with you?" he asked.

"Yeah!" She answered.

"So I'll come by your apartment at seven on Friday, ok?" he asked.

"Hai!" She said.

The bell rang then, and everyone scurried to his or her classes. The rest of the day worked out fine, too. Then, Yuzuriha met Sakura after school.

"Sakura! You're meeting Kizuchi today, remember? Then we have to go shopping!" She dragged Sakura down the hallway and to her car. They passed by a disappointed Kurama along the way, but Sakura just shrugged and pointed to Yuzuriha, who had seemed to be in her own world.

They drove till they got to Yuzuriha's house. Sakura still couldn't imagine how big it was. "I've got a big family," Yuzuriha explained.

Sakura just nodded and followed Yuzuriha into her house.

As they shut the door behind them, four younger siblings of Yuzuriha bombarded them. "YAY! Yuzuriha-chan!" Three little 5-year old triplets said. "Girls are stupid," A not much older ten-year-old muttered.

Yuzuriha led her into the living room, where Kizuchi was sitting. She had a can of something in her hand, but seemed sober enough. Yuzuriha sensed this, too. "Kizuchi," She called. "Me and Sakura are here to talk,"

"Ah... It's about that Minanimo guy, isn't is?" Kizuchi waved her can around drunkenly. "He's a cutie."

"Well......They're going to the dance together, and she needs tips," Yuzuriha explained.

"Ah... The naive little Sakura, huh?" Kizuchi said. "First, wear something you think he'll like. Second, what kind of guy is he?"

"Shuiichi-kun's really sweet, and a bit of a gentleman," Sakura started.

"Then don't wear too much makeup or too loud of an outfit. I'd say something red or purple. That would sort-of go with both your hair and his hair." Kizuchi still seemed drunk, but not as much.

"Arigatou, Kizuchi-chan, but I've got to go. I have a job," Sakura explained.

"Darn..." Yuzuriha grumbled. "I wanted to take you shopping."

"That's quite alright," Sakura said. "I think I've got something I can wear."

So Yuzuriha drove Sakura to her Yakitori shop, and Sakura walked home after that was done. She looked at her closet. Yes, she did have something.

Hiei was staring at her through her window. "Women," He mumbled. 'Kurama, what have you done to her,' he thought. "And when you tell me, what will I do to you,' He disappeared into the darkness, probably on his way to the Shuiichi family apartment.

Hiei opened the window and was surprised to find that no one was there. Shuiichi normally studied at this hour. Then, Kurama walked in to his room with a bag in his hands.

"What's in the bag?" Hiei asked.

"Ah... nothing, I just went shopping," Kurama said, hastily putting the bag in his closet.

"What did you do to Sakura?" He asked.

"I didn't do anything.... Oh, I think I know what you mean. It was suggested that we go to this Halloween Dance together, and so I asked her. Are you happy now?" Hiei folded his arms and stared at Kurama.

"What is a dance?" he asked. Kurama smiled a bit.

"It's a ningen activity that people like to come to. There, music is played and snacks are served. People dance at the dance, for lack of better words," Kurama explained. "You know, maybe I should take you along to this one. It'd be funny," Kurama added. Hiei glared at the kitsune. "Don't get any ideas," he said. "Fine, I won't take you to this one," he said, "So promise not to watch us. I can tell when you're doing that, you know, and it gets annoying. I do know how to fight."

"Hn," Hiei said, and was about to leave when some thing that Kurama said delayed him. "You're coming to the Christmas one, you do realize that,"Kurama said as Hiei disappeared. Kurama shut the window and dreamed about Friday.

~A/N~

Good chapter, ne? This one was a bit shorter, but the next one'll be reaaallly long. I'll fit the whole dance in one chapter that's why. This one's from my dreams, too. I'll try not to get things too out of hand, but you never know what goes on in my dreams!

Sakura Takanouchi