When Sakura finally awoke, her eyes slowly opening, feeling heavy, she was met with the sight of a familiar ceiling. She was in her father's house, in the room he'd set aside for her. She frowned, trying to remember how she had gotten here, before memory returned and she thought of Yumichika.
She tried to sit up but her body rebelled, and she groaned as pain flooded her body.
"Ahh, you're awake."
Her eyes swivelled towards the voice. In a chair a little distance from her bed sat her father, a book held between his long-fingered hands. He leaned towards her, long white hair, so much like her own, falling over his right shoulder.
"You overexherted yourself, Sakura."
She shook her head. "I don't see how. I. ." She stopped, frowning. "It has something to do with the seal, right?"
Ukitake nodded. "It takes a while for a Shinigami's full powers to return after a seal has been lifted, and considering you are injured, it took all your strength to heal Ayasegawa."
Sakura's eyes flashed. "He's better then?"
Ukitake smiled. "Mostly. Hanataro told me that if not for your administrations in the human world, he surely would have died."
Sakura stared up at the ceiling, letting her father's word sink in. Relief flooded through her, and suddenly she felt tired, so tired. Her limbs seemed heavy and every part of her ached. Her eyes began to close and she struggled against the pull of sleep, wanting to see Yumichika for herself.
A cool hand laid against her cheek.
"Don't fight it, Sakura. You need to sleep."
"I know, but. . Yumichika." She murmured, trying to focus on her father's face but finding it unusually difficult.
"He'll still be here when you awake."
With those words echoing inside her head, Sakura fell asleep.
By the time she roused again, the day had been and gone. Crickets hummed out in the darkness and Sakura opened her eyes to the night. Her limbs still ached but her head felt cleared. She glanced around the familiar room, her eyes falling once more upon the chair by her beside and the silhouette of a man.
"Father, you're still here." She murmured. The figure leant forwards into the pale moonlight that shone through the nearby window. The cool beams lit the face of Yumichika.
"Yumi," Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and she pushed herself to a sitting position. One hand raised unconsciously to the scar at the base of her throat as she gazed at her friend, her mind seemingly unable to believe he was really there. He stood, coming to perch on the side of her bed and smiled at her.
Sakura's eyes roved his face. There was colour in his cheeks now, and the clean scent of shampoo hit her nostrils. His usual eye adornments were back in place, and the livid scar was gone. She leaned forwards, one hand rising to touch the smooth skin of his face. There was the merest trace of a silvery line visible; the lingering memory of the wound.
"It didn't scar." She whispered softly.
"No. Thanks to you."
Sakura shook her head, loose hair tumbling down her back and pooling on the bed behind her.
"I couldn't heal your face, Yumi. I tried but. ."
"You overexherted yourself. They told me. They also told me I would have died if it weren't for your care."
Sakura gazed into her friend's eyes in the dim light.
"It occurred to me that on that first night after you were wounded, when you asked me why I was helping you, that maybe you were trying to tell me that you wanted to die in battle."
She couldn't read his expression in the darkness but pushed on.
"Is that what you wanted, Yumichika? Do you resent that I helped you?"
Warm fingers slid over hers and squeezed gently.
"A friend once told me that a man should plan to die in battle but consider himself lucky should he walk away."
Sakura smiled, reaching over to a nearby table to switch on a lamp. She gazed at her friend in the light, and her smile widened.
"Wow, you look really good."
A small smile tugged at his lips. "And you look like a mess, Takahashi."
She opened her mouth to protest indignantly but Yumichika rose, moving behind her on the bed and reached for her hair. She quieted as his fingers moved through her long locks, smoothing out the tangles. He started braiding the mass of hair and Sakura sat quietly, enjoying the familiar sensation. Her eyes closed and she listened to the insects humming in the night.
Warm lips pressed to the elegant curve of her shoulder before moving in gentle kisses up her neck. Her eyes opened sharply as she sucked in a breath, her body responding with a rush of warmth as her heart began to pound. She turned to face Yumichika, her violet eyes wide, confusion in their depths.
"Yumi, what are you doing?"
His hands cupped her cheeks and she gazed into his face, the gentle glow of the lamp making his pale skin seem luminous. He was strikingly handsome and, for a second, it took her breath away. His fingers slid up into her hair and she shivered, eyes closing. She felt him lean closer, her heart rate picking up, and then his hot breath was on her face, making her lips tingle. He closed the gap between them, his lips pressing against her own, so gentle and searching that her own lips parted in response. It was nothing like the kisses she shared with Ikkaku; there was none of the violence, the desperate need, just sweetness and softness and an ache in her chest that made her yearn for more.
When he pulled away, Sakura's skin was flushed. His eyes roved her face and then he was leaning into her once again, his arms moving to embrace her. This kiss was even sweeter than the first, building in intensity, his lips and body pressing tighter against her own. Slowly, his lips still on hers, Yumichika leaned into her until he was guiding her backwards onto the bed. This was enough to make Sakura come back to herself, and she broke the kiss with a small gasp, pushing him back.
"Yumi." She placed a gentle hand on his chest. "What are you doing?"
Gently, he brushed a stray strand of pale hair from off her forehead before cupping her cheek once more.
"Sakura, little Sakura, if I could love anyone, I would love you."
She gazed at her friend in shock, her mind playing over his words. It wasn't really a confession of love, was it? What was he really trying to say?
Her eyes wide and confused, Sakura removed Yumichika's hand from off her cheek and straightened her clothes.
"Yumi, you don't really love me. I think," She took a breath, "I think you're just confusing gratitude and friendship with something more."
He stared at her with lidded eyes, looking regal and breathtakingly beautiful in the soft light.
"Do you love Ikkaku?"
Sakura blinked and looked away, gazing down at her hands.
"I. . .I want to. I don't know. It's hard for me, because of everything."
She gestured helplessly with her hands, trying to convey with a simple gesture the complication and nuances of her past experiences. Yumichika seemed to understand, though, nodding slowly before gazing out the window. The lamplight made his eyes glitter darkly, and Sakura thought that he'd never looked so cold and haughty. He looked back at her, and she felt pinned by his gaze.
"If Ikkaku loves anything other than fighting, I know that it is you."
Her breath left her, and Sakura felt unable to do anything than stare at her friend. He stood up and strode towards the door. Sakura scrambled after him, grabbing a robe on the way out the door and wrapping it around her.
"Yumichika! Wait!"
She caught his arm as he stepped out into the courtyard, the nearby pond flashing like glass in the moonlight, the trees casting heavy shadows across the grass. He turned to her, stepping close, and she lost her breath once more, gazing into his pale face.
"I. ." She didn't know what to say.
"Sakura?" A male voice called out from the darkness at the side of the building, and Sakura's head snapped around.
"Ikkaku?" She stepped away from Yumichika hurriedly, watching with surprise as Ikkaku strode towards them. As he stopped before them, he took in the presence of his oldest friend before slapping him heartily on the back and grinning his fierce little grin.
"Good to see you up and about, you lazy ass!"
Yumichika flashed a small smile before sniffing regally.
"You're so uncouth, Ikkaku."
Ikkaku's grin widened, his white teeth gleaming in the darkness.
"At least you're back to normal. Sakura," He turned to her now, his face in shadows. She could still see his eyes, though, and they were filled with uncomplicated emotion. He embraced her, muscular arms fitting easily around her, his body hard and strong against her own. Her head rested comfortably on his shoulder and, when he kissed her, it was fierce and breathtaking and wild.
When he pulled away, Sakura's eyes went over his shoulder to Yumichika, who watched them silently from the shadow of a nearby tree. Sakura caught his eyes briefly before looking away. She turned into Ikkaku's embrace once more.
Finis.