Dear Readers,

After the saga of three chapters to Yusuke and Keiko… it's time for Kurama and Botan!

Love,

Wolf Princess Aya

Lasting Memories

Kurama sighed as he sat out in the garden alone. Actually, he sat in the tree.

One leg dangling off the branches and his back against the trunk, he looked down silently at the lily encrusted pond, and smelt the lilacs which bloomed all around. He loved botany… he loved the outside more than anything.

It was so peaceful out here. He wished he felt peace within.

He looked up for a moment at his and Hari's room, where his bride-to-be (A/N: Sorry, at the moment he IS referring to Hari) was being fit into some expensive dresses that she requested.

'Why do you love her?' Botan's voice echoed through his mind. With a quiet sigh he turned his gaze to the courtyard door, where he had heard movement moments before.

And sure enough, the maid- Botan- was quietly sneaking into the courtyard. She looked around quickly, as if making sure no one else was there, before proceeding to the pond and sitting with a sigh at the bank.

Looking into the pond, she sang quietly to herself, closing her eyes and lifting her head towards the sky.

"I have wandered far and wide

for something real something to die for

but I have found you and you do not see

all that is me all that is true."

'She has a beautiful voice,' the prince observed, musing as he watched her from his tree, her cerulean locks framing her face both in her reflection and in reality.

"I am more than you will see,

I am more than you will need,

I am more than you will see,

more than wanted.

As you float the flimsy surface

you should know life lies beneath it

don't pretend you feel what I feel for you

live illusion and I am real. . .

I am more than you will see,

I am more than you will need,

I am more than you will see,

more than wanted-" she stopped her song with a gasp as Kurama leaped gracefully out of the tree and landed next to her. He couldn't take it any longer.

How could such a sweet voice sing something so horrible?

"Oh! My- my prince! I- I'm sorry I came into the court yard without permission, I wanted to see it for myself, it looked so beautiful from my window and I-" She silenced herself as the prince looked at her curiously.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, beginning to back away, but Kurama grabbed her arm lightly.

"You have . . . a beautiful voice. . ." he said slowly, loosening his grip on her arm slightly.

"Thank you. . ." she whispered breathlessly. There was a moment of silence, where Kurama still clung to her arm, and she still tried to back away. He could tell she was uncomfortable but he continued to hold on.

'Why do you love her?'

"How . . . how do you know you love someone?" he asked finally. Botan looked at him oddly.

"You asked me," the prince continued, looking down and letting go of the maid's arm, "why I loved Hari. How can I know if I love her or not if I don't know how to be sure?" Botan rested her chin on her knees and looked at him briefly out of the corner of her eye.

And then she sang softly, her voice echoing sweetly through the floral scented garden.

"If you get out in the drivin' rain

Stand in the eye of a hurricane

And never think twice

If you turn your back on selfishness

And your thoughts are for someone else

'Cause they've changed your life

That's how you know it's love

That's how you know it's meant to be

When the span of forever just never seems long enough

That's how you know it's love."

"That doesn't really help much-" Kurama began to say, but Botan continued, never looking him in the eye.

"When your heart insists that you give it all

When you no longer feel the fall

And you just let go

When the past is finally dead and gone

Fate leads you somewhere to the one

That has your soul

That's how you know it's love

That's how you know it's meant to be

When the span of forever just never seems long enough

That's how you know it's love."

Kurama stared at her intently, as if unsure of what else to do. But he listened intently to the girl next to him.

"No part of you questions

No part of you doubts

You're only sure this is what love's about

And nothing and no one

Can stand in your way

Or keep you from sayin' what your heart is dyin' to say. . ."

At this point, Botan choked and stood, hugging herself tightly. The prince thought he saw a glimmer of a tear in her eye, and stood to comfort her or- or something. But she turned her back to him and ran, unable to continue singing, or even to continue to stand there.

"Wait!" he cried after her as she disappeared into the castle.

With a sigh he sat back down against the tree trunk and closed his eyes, his head lifted towards the sky.

'What am I going to do? How am I to know? And that girl . . .'

Botan flopped onto her bed, hugging her pillow close to her and sobbing. She sat up, tears flowing freely, and looked out the window at the prince, whom her heart was longing for.

'That's how you know it's love,' she thought sadly, as she stared down at the confused and frustrated Kurama, his hair blowing in the light wind under his firmly planted hat.

'That's how you know it's meant to be

When the span of forever just never seems long enough

That's how you know it's love. . .'

(Wipes tears away) That's how you know it's love… Love love…

Aya-chan