Winds of Thyme
By Sakura Takanouchi
~*~ Winds of Thyme Chapter Twenty: Three Small Words ~*~
Disclaimer: Hm… I think everyone gets it by now… but just in case, I own nothing. Now everyone gets it. Woo-hoo!
~*~ The next day ~*~
Kurama woke up that morning with an enormous headache. He remembered fighting Yoshiko that night, and then he couldn't remember a thing. Where was he?
He got up, and looked around. He was lying on a futon, in some kind of guestroom. Definitely not his apartment. There was a picture of a little girl and an older man (probably her father) standing in front of a temple decorated with Sakura trees. The girl looked to be about ten, and she was smiling.
"That's me… the week before my father died," Kurama heard a voice say. He turned around to see Sakura holding a tray of yakisoba.
"This is your apartment?" Kurama asked.
"Have you forgotten everything from last night? Well, if you're well enough, we can eat in the dining room. If you're not, then here's your food on a tray," Sakura said.
Kurama stood up and limped down the hallway to the dining room. Sakura's apartment was cheery and bright, with windows everywhere to let in light. It was very sunny outside.
They sat down in the small table in the dining room. Sakura set his tray down in front of him, and then went to the adjoining kitchen to get some for herself. When she had sat down, she proceeded to tell Kurama everything that he had forgotten.
"So I won the fight, and you won a fight that this guy had picked with you, and then I went to see if you were ok and you went to see if I was ok?" Kurama asked. Sakura nodded.
"And then we met halfway there and I fainted and you took me here so I could recover?" Sakura nodded again.
Kurama finished his yakisoba and got up to put the bowl in the dishwasher. "I guess I should thank you for doing that," he said.
"It was nothing," She answered. "Do you want me to walk you back to your apartment?" Sakura asked.
"Hai," Kurama answered. They both headed outside.
Although it was sunny, It had snowed all night and the ground was covered in snow. Little children were playing everywhere, and Some of the trees were covered in ice. It looked very beautiful, especially on their walk back.
~*~ At the Park (Where Else?) ~*~
Sakura and Kurama walked holding hands like a lot of the other couples walking through the park were. They had reached the area where they had fought last night when Sakura suddenly stopped.
"Kurama?' She asked.
"Yes, Sakura-chan?" he answered.
"Did you mean what you said when you were fighting Yoshiko?" Sakura asked, suddenly embarrassed.
"I'm not sure I remember. What did I say?" Kurama asked.
Sakura's face turned pinker. "You…you were fighting Yoshiko. And she said something and was about to attack you. And then you said…" Sakura trailed off, hoping Kurama would remember.
"I said what?" Kurama asked.
"You said… you said that you loved me," Sakura's face was now beet red.
Kurama pulled Sakura into a hug. "Of course I meant it," he whispered into her ear.
"Kurama?" Sakura asked again.
"Yes?" Kurama answered, releasing her from the hug.
"I… I love you too." Sakura then hugged Kurama back, and Kurama held her, stroking her hair with one hand. After several seconds, they finally started to realize that people were staring at them. They pulled out of the embrace, and walked hand in hand the rest of the way.
~*~ At Kurama's Apartment ~*~
Kurama let himself into his apartment and gave a thank-you hug to Kurama. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Kurama-kun," she said.
"Sakura?" Kurama asked.
"Hai?" She answered.
"Don't you remember? The mission is tomorrow. We'll be missing school. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei are coming too," Kurama informed her.
"Oh yeah, I remember," Sakura assured him. "I just have one question."
"What is it?" Kurama asked.
"It's just… I don't know how to get to Reikai," Sakura said. "So can I stop by your apartment tomorrow and we go together?'
Kurama smiled. "Sure," he said.
Sakura waved goodbye to Kurama and went back to her own apartment. But she didn't know that someone was watching her.
~*~ At Sakura's Apartment ~*~
The phone rang as soon as Sakura shut the door to her apartment. "Moshi Moshi," she spoke into the phone.
"Sakura? It's Koenma again," the ruler or Reikai said.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Well, that masked guy showed up in Makai again," Koenma said.
Sakura was getting annoyed at this. "I was busy all day today and all day yesterday," She told him.
"Well, normally the masked guy only does good things, like finishing the missions before the tantei does. Not like those are really good things, but… recently he has been doing bad things, like stealing and picking fights with other demons. This is really getting out of hand," Koenma said.
"That's nice, but what does it have to do with me?" Sakura asked.
"I'm not exactly sure," Koenma answered. "Just… if you see someone dressed like you were, then kill them!"
"You didn't need to tell me that, Koenma," Sakura said. "Look, I have to go now. See you tomorrow!" Then she hung up. This other masked guy was really starting to tick her off. She turned on the TV and started to watch whatever was on.
She didn't realize that someone was watching her—and it was the same person that was watching her before. This person kept himself hidden from view, but if one looked carefully, one could see his blue cloak that covered just about all of him.
~A/N~
Yay! Another chapter done. I think I'll make there be twenty-four chapters in all for this series. Then I'll be free to work on some of my other better known fanfiction! I'd have to say, although this is not my best-known work, It is the easiest to write, so I update more often on this then on anything else. I have no idea why I'm saying this, so I'll just leave you with some words of wisdom that will help you bunches in the future--- REVIEW!!! For the love of all the bloody monkeys in the world, review! Check out my other fics, too. Fun stuff, man.
Sakura Takanouchi