Ok, I fixed a few things. Meh, I posted it yesterday, then I got the reviews that reminded me I had basically no idea what I had just posted, so I went back, found a few mistakes, added a few details. So yeah, if you bothered to read this part, know you got the improved version.

Um, fluff warning? Yep, fluff warning. Slight perversion, which by the way, was hard for me to write. Actually, I had intended to make it more perverted, but I just can't write perverted. Would never dream of it. Speaking of dreams, I had the strangest dream just the other day. Had something to do with a spaceship, a war game, lots of friends, and three really hot guys my subconscious seemed to just imagine up out of nowhere. Heh heh…

With the Sunset Goes My Love: Chapter 9

There's a Price For Dreams

Normal

"I hope you made sure no one saw you." Tsuchi told the air just as she was making to push open the door of her flower shop. She had unlocked it only seconds before.

"What kind of thief do you take me for?" Youko asked as he stepped out of the shadows. It was false dawn at the moment and not a soul in sight. Still, it was always good to be careful.

He had followed her over by way of rooftops. He hadn't expected to be noticed, but apparently Tsuchi was sharper than he had first assessed, even after all that time being incapacitated.

"One that's not good enough." Tsuchi smirked as she entered the shop.

Frustrated, Youko follows her into the shop and past all the potted plants and bouquets of flowersto yet another locked door. Beyond this door was a greenhouse, still cold with the beginning of the day, but stifling humid. Slowly the sun crept over the horizon as Tsuchi went from plant to plant, tending to their needs and picking those that were ripe for sale.

"You have quite a collection here." Youko noted. "As well as a few more dangerous breeds." His hand brushed past the demonic version of a Venus Fly-trap. It snapped at his fingers, hungry for blood.

"Hm, just don't hurt yourself." Tsuchi said absently.

She was surprised out of that state of distraction instantly when the grape vines she had been tending suddenly shot out at her and bound her where she stood.

Youko approached her from behind, making her flinch, and whispered in her ear. "You forget who you're talking to." His voice was almost seductive as he played with Tsuchi's platinum hair.

"And you do not know whom you speak with." Tsuchi retorted calmly. She quickly began to chant, making Youko's eyes narrow. "I summon the summoned, I curse the be-cursed, I cast back the spear, mirror into mirrored and mirrored once more. (1)"

"What do you think you're doing?" The surprised kitsune asked as the vines around Tsuchi began to unravel and attacked him.

He stumbled and backed himself into a nearby tree, where he was in turn trapped and bound by the very same vines he had used against Tsuchi.

She turned to face him with a smug expression. Tsuchi lifted his chin with her fingers. "Silly fox, this is my greenhouse. And don't you ever forget it." She chided him before she brushed past him to chat with a customer who had just stepped into her shop. "Ah, Anna, I've been expecting you..." The sound of her voice died away as the glass door to the greenhouse swung closed behind her.

Youko watched her go in surprise. He soon came to his senses but could do nothing but glare at Tsuchi's back from where he stood trapped in the greenhouse. None of the plants near him would submit to his will, no matter how much spirit energy he used. The fox was spent.

Youko Kurama

It's Friday night and Tsuchi's gone again. I was curious as to what she did every Friday while she was gone so tonight I trailed her.

I watched as she disappeared into a pub in town and waited until more people entered before I snuck in. My sensitive ears could already hear the music from outside, and it only got louder on the other side of the walls. As my eyes scanned the area for Tsuchi's platinum hair, I sat in a dark corner in the back trying to adjust to the atmosphere. I had spent too much time sitting in Tsuchi's quiet apartment as of late.

Soon the blasting music died down and two figures stepped onto the stage.

There, on the stage, stood the songstress and another character. I could notdiscern what breed of demon he was from where I stood.

Tsuchi Kusabana

What in the three worlds he thought he was doing there, I have no clue. It was one thing to follow me to the flower shop where he could easily hide in the greenhouse, but to trail me to the pub? Was he trying to get caught? These men could easily recognize him for what he was!

Never the less, he was there, and I had no option but to accept his presence. It wasn't like I could stalk off stage and drag him away. No, the show had to go on. /rolls eyes/ Remind me to inhibit Shakespeare's sayings from my vocabulary.

I tried to ignore him, but it didn't work so well. As I scanned the audience, my eyes alway drifted back to his corner. In the end, I simply sang with my eyes closed.

The next time I checked his corner of the room, he was gone.

Narrator

Youko ended up staying with Tsuchi for the rest of the spring, and most of the summer. Their lives together were quite agreeable. Often times Youko would help around the house and Tsuchi would thank him with a smile. It got to be that there was an unspoken bond between them.

Normal

"Tsuchi, there's something we need to talk about." Youko and Tsuchi were sitting under a willow tree in what was the Tsi forest before summer had set in. They were watching the wind as Youko held Tsuchi in his arms

"I know; you can't stay. I never expected you to." Tsuchi cut in softly, silencing the silver kitsune.

"Tsuchi, you know I wish I could. But I promise you, I'll go and make myself a demon lord, and then I'll come back and bring you to live with me. You'll have everything you ever wanted and then some." Youko promised her.

Too bad he didn't know that at that very moment she had everything she ever wanted. A home where she belonged, a nice job in a quiet town, and someone to love. She knew love was a weakness, and that she had made a big mistake falling for the fox thief, but at that moment she didn't care. She was content.

"I understand. Let's not talk about it right now. Just give me one more day with you." Tsuchi snuggled deeper into the fox's embrace, taking in his musky scent, trying to savor the moment.

She told herself that one more day was all she needed, and then she could go back to the way things were before Youko had appeared practically on her doorstep. But deep down inside she knew better; there was no turning back. She had become what she despised the most, a hopeless romantic in love and willing to wait on that love. At least she wouldn't be alone in the occupation. After all, practically all the females in her town were engaged in just such a pass time every moment of their pathetic lives.

Time Lapse

Youko was taking a shower as Tsuchi washed his clothes. When she had washed them for about the third time (2) she prepared a bento box and packed it for convenient carrying so he could have a home cooked dinner.

She had laid the clothes next to the bathroom door so Youko could access them easily.Said foxsoon appeared in the hallway fully dressed and she solemnly handed him his dinner.

"Arigato, Tsuchi. I'm sorry I have to go. If I stay any longer I will surely be found out and I can't let that happen."

"Of course not. I would never dream of it." Tsuchi agreed, straightening his tunic. "You know I'll wait for you. But I can't promise that I can wait longer than a human can live." Her voice trembled, but her words were reasonable. She slowly let her hands fall from his chest as her eyes fell to the floor. She couldn't seem to look him in the eyes.

"Of course. It won't take me even that long." Youko attempted to make a joke out of it. A wavering smile graced Tsuchi's lips for a second before it completely collapsed.

Seeing that he had failed in cheering her up, Youkobrushed Tsuchi's platinum bangs out of her faceand trailed a gentle clawed hand downthe side of her facebefore leaving silently. She didn't even look up when the door clicked shut.

Silence fell over the little apartment and after a few moments Tsuchi lifted her head. Her blue-green eyes scanned over the still and empty rooms. In the past few weeks, Youko had become part of the background, part of her daily life, it was strange now to find the place so empty. Must have been the way her mother had felt when her father had died. Pity she never felt the same way for the deceased Siren.

Slowly, Tsuchi wandered into the back room where Youko had slept. She stepped up to the window and stared out onto the Tsi forest. The sun was setting. The light reflecting off of the clouds painted a beautiful image of reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, lavender, and blue. A bitter sweet scene.

And so with the sunset goes my love.

I know what you're thinking, and no, the story is not over yet. Like my summary says, this is just the beginning. Besides, there's at least one more chapter left in this one. Don't know whether I'll put the rest of the story under this title, or another one. They're kind of tightly linked. Somebody tell me what to do. Either I make this story a longer one, or make this and my next one really short.

Glossary-

1) I stole that from Alan Cole's Warrior's Return but hey, it works. I swear I can curse people when we go bowling!

2) "When she had washed them for about the third time…" I just had to put that in there. /huge grin/

Arigato- Thank you

Responses-

Hieiloving101- Ouch, hope you heal quickly. My updates must always be interesting. (And hopefully they will be.) Yeah, I tend to create interesting moments for them don't I? Hope you liked this chapter. It's really a bunch of filler stuff though so I'm skeptical. I had trouble with the greenhouse scene. That's really what stopped me from getting this out quickly. Oh well, one more chapter.

Spitfire-Hanyou14- Sorry 'bout the slow update. I suppose Dark and I had bad weeks. You realize this is the second to last chapter for this story? Eh heh, but the series will continue anyway, I just tend to break it up so much. No one's told me if they want me to put the sequel under the same title or make a new one yet.

Princess Kandra- Hey, missed you last few chapters. I know they're short, but they were places to stop, awkward areas I had to cut off. And STOP POKING ME! I happen to be ticklish you know. /clamps hand over mouth/ Oops, shouldn't have said that. /wary eyes/

Kitsune Kit- Well, if you insist…but I noticed no one reviewed for my little note. I'm beginning to wonder if I even have readers anymore. /sigh/ Next chapter is the epilogue. I'll decide if I really want to continue then. But mind you, it'll take a long while before I get the next part for this series out. I'm on a little fantasy adventure with a new idea I'm entertaining and I don't know when I'll be back. It's seriously out of no where, nothing to do with any Yu Yu Hakusho at all. I didn't even know I was capable of coming up with totally original ideas.

Seeyu- Sorry for the slow update. I just failed a science test, for which I was studying the past few days. And of course, Dark was a little out of it. Hope you enjoyed the excerpt in the absence of this story. It's almost over anyway. And the next part is only about four chapters long anyway. My chapters can't get any longer than they are though. I apologize, I can't seem to connect them properly. I like giving people time between to absorb events. Besides, if I did otherwise, my entire Makai part would be like three chapters long. I don't want that. I'm glad you enjoyed it. My confidence in my writing tends to falter, so it's good to know someone liked it.

darknesspirals- You got Princess Kandra poking me now! Ugh! Oh well, that's for editing for me. It's all good. Hope you feel better. Dad forgot to kill AIM, sign on sometime will ya'?

Review, or you'll never know what I did with Youko and Tsuchi.