At long last, the fifth oneshot of Shu and Kluke: Precious Memories is finally here! :D I'm sorry that I'm late - I'm not sure if anyone knew, but I had been planning on uploading this oneshot/chapter on the 16th. However, the last two days have been absolutely insane for me, and I've barely had time at my computer, if any. So... Wow. Today is exactly four months since the last update. :O Man, I have to find a way to write faster... Anyway, that brings up another point. Two days ago marked me being a member of the site for half a year. I can't believe it's been that long already. XD I feel that I've made some really bad blunders since I joined... But, I'm still glad that I did. :) I've had the opportunity to "meet" (not sure if that's the proper way to phrase that...) some really incredible and amazing writers while I've been here, and slowly watch the fan fiction archive of Blue Dragon go from five stories to seventy-nine (that's including crossovers). I've hoped that I encouraged some people to start writing stories of their own... I don't know if that's what I did, and it's certainly not my right to say if I did or not. But, if I haven't yet, it's still my hope that I will in the future, and will be able to help any new writers that come along; this category has been graced by some excellent stories, and I can only imagine how it will continue to grow as time goes on. :) Anyway, now that I've bored you with my sentimental rambling... XD Time for the review replies! ;D

WindGoddess Rune: Ah, well... I don't know how bad it was exactly... Not least of all because I kind of forgot some parts of the fight (it's been a little too long, I guess). *sweatdrops* But I didn't go into detail on purpose - I kind of wanted it to be something that the readers formulated in their own minds, and let them decide how bad it was. Still, I will say that Fushira never explicitly said that - that was just the strong impression that Shu got. And, in Fushira's defense, Shu did say some things that weren't exactly kind. But... Shu and Fushira made up in Homecoming, so in the end, I suppose that's what matters. :)

motorcycle demon: It is. :D R-really? Wow... I never would've thought that about this one, but thank you! :D

Prince of Tennis' Shaman: Yeah... It's close to the least favorite things I've ever worked on (though that place is still held by A Strange Occurrence). It is? Thank you. :) A-alright... Really? Thanks; I'm glad to hear it. :D Ah, that's good... But since this was last updated, all of my stories have been moving very slowly. *sad sigh* Yes. ;.; I know - I freaked out, too. I was, just a little bit, happy that they were worried about each other, since it seemed to hint at that possible-relationship that had its wings nearly clipped by the "Andropov-relationship-plot-twist bomb" (I'm still trying to find a shorter name for that, but I've come up with nothing so far). I'm not saying that I don't like Andropov, of course - I like him, and I even like his relationship with Kluke - but I thought it was cruel of the writers to lead on Jiro x Kluke fans with hints throughout most of the first season, and then have all of those hints practically vanish. But, I digress, as I often do... (Besides, I forgot, but I think I might've said all of that before. XP) Ah, speaking of Delphinium... It might just be me, but I thought that their exchanges in that episode might be hinting at something between those two (maybe a crush from Jiro, or even just a mutual friendship). Well... I thought about that possibly hinted connection for a split second - things happened so rapidly in that episode, for me, there was hardly any time to think about anything but what was happening next. But afterwards, it certainly got me thinking about some oneshots and/or drabbles centering on those two. XD Oh... Um, if you don't mind me asking, how is the translating going? There's no rush, though - you've been going through a lot lately, and I don't mind waiting however long it takes. :) By the way, though, I did see some Chinese subtitles last time I checked that website. Also, I'm considering seeing how far I can translate the episode, since my Japanese has improved a tiny bit since that episode aired.

And review replies are done! :D I would like to give a big thank you to all who reviewed that oneshot, because I honestly didn't think it would get any reviews at all. So... Thank you; it means a lot to me. :) And one more notice that I would like to give out:

I would like to congratulate and thank Kasumi (Kusanagi) and An (Prince of Tennis' Shaman) on uploading the 76th and 77th non-crossover stories respectively - that caused the Blue Dragon category to go into it's fourth page! *cheers loudly for an undetermined amount of time* I promise that as soon as I upload this, as long as nothing interrupts me, I'll be heading over there to check them out (and review)! :D

So, now that most of my little notes are out of the way, I'll finally start talking a little about this next oneshot. This one is kind of an alternate episode 8 of Tenkai no Shichi Ryuu: Shu has Noi stay and watch Marumaro and Bouquet, instead of Noi sneaking away without anyone telling him anything and going to find Kluke; Shu gets hungry and stops in the town instead of going straight to Kluke's house; Kluke still goes into town, but this time it's to go grocery shopping. A lot of things in this oneshot give allusions to what Shu and Kluke are thinking and feeling, but does not always explain (a little similar to the last oneshot, but on a bigger level). I'm kind of leaving that to you, dear readers. ;) Also, this oneshot will have more Shu x Kluke than the previous ones; while I had a difficult time writing it (I'll talk about that at the end of the chapter), I thought it was about time. Well, I think that's all I need to mention for now... So, without further ado, here is the fifth oneshot/chapter! :D

5. Together

Kluke shifted the paper bag in her arms; she'd bought a pound too many of flour, and for her arms' sake, she was eager to get back to her motorbike.

It was odd, really; she'd been sure that the cupboards at home had been full, but when she checked them that morning, it had been obvious that she needed to buy a few things.

She need to hurry for another reason besides her aching limbs. It would only be in an hour's time before she was supposed to watch the children, and she still had to search for craft supplies-

She gasped as her boot caught on a cobblestone, barely keeping herself from falling over. She sighed, relieved that the groceries were okay. She moved to stand and-

Kluke felt a similar presence, one she hadn't felt for a long time. About a year or so.

She turned, and there he was. He hadn't noticed her, or he pretended not to. He was leaning over a stall bin filled with fruit, sorting meticulously through almost all of them. He'd always been so particular when it came to fruit.

She quietly watched him for a moment, and then she was sure that he remained unaware of her presence. She felt tears sting her eyes - it was so much like him, that he would be so completely ignorant of his surroundings, that it made her realize how much she'd missed him.

He made his purchase, and turned to leave in the opposite direction of her (still unaware of her being there). Before he got too far, she spoke his name. "Shu."

She smiled softly as she saw his shoulder blades jerk upwards with surprise. He spun around, a look of complete stun on his face, then brightened like a candle as he saw her. "Kluke!"

Kluke turned her teacup around on its plate, staring at her reflection on the liquid's surface. The turning was an old habit.

She was sitting at a table of an outdoor café; coming here had brought back a lot of memories of Jibral. It hadn't been easy, coming here, because of those memories. But... Shu had wanted to take her to lunch, to do something for her, and she wasn't going to object to that.

Her peaceful reverie broke as a sound pierced the air, like an uncountable number of tiny bells falling on the ground. She snapped her head to the right, the direction that the sound seemed to be coming from, but relaxed after she saw the cause.

Shu stood, hand on the back of his head, his feet surrounded by gold coins; he was rapidly apologizing to the waiter for dropping the money.

Kluke couldn't help but giggle. It was nice to have her Shu back.

After a few minutes, he plopped into the chair across from her, exhaling loudly. "Well, that's finally taken care of! Sorry for the wait." He was still catching his breath.

"Don't worry about it," she shook her head, smiling. "How have you been?"

"Oh, I'm doing fine..." He looked down and started to fiddle with his wristband. As if he were retreating back inside himself.

She pushed some hair behind her ear. She hated it when they started to act like this towards each other. When he saw her in the market, and he brightened so suddenly, she had been encouraged - she thought that had meant they could act normally around each other again. But, apparently, the awkwardness remained. "That's good." she said quietly.

He nodded. "And how are you?"

She almost said she was doing well, or some such, but she cut herself off before she started. She was tired of talking to him like this. She remembered something Toyodeh had once told her - sometimes when you wish to change things, you must be the one to take the first step. "I'm annoyed." She actually spoke matter-of-factly.

Shu's eyes widened slightly; she had taken him by surprise. "You're what?"

"I'm annoyed," she repeated. "I'm annoyed that we keep talking with each other like we've barely met, rather than knowing each other since we were one and a half."

He stared at her for a moment, then sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "I'm sorry. It's just... I don't want to say the wrong thing to you."

Kluke furrowed her eyebrows. "Why would you say the wrong thing to me?"

He adverted his eyes momentarily. "Well... You're different now, Kluke. You've changed."

"You've changed, too." she replied almost automatically. She was hit with a sudden moment of clarity.

He had changed... No longer was he the young boy who she watched with a careful and worried eye. He was, still, a boy, but now a boy very slowly becoming a man; he still has much time to be young, but she can see him steadily changing. Her Shu has been growing up while she was away, and she has to admit that it scares her a little. He isn't even shorter than her anymore, and that might be the biggest shock of all. I still have time to grow again, she thinks with a little hope. She knows it's a silly thought, but she wants to take care of him as long as she can (and if she were trying to take care of him, it wouldn't seem quite right if he were taller than her).

He blinked in surprise. "I didn't think you would notice."

"Why wouldn't I notice?" Her eyebrows furrowed even more, clearly showing her irritation. What was she missing here? Had he really changed that much, that she couldn't tell what he was thinking anymore?

His eyes turned sad, as if he pitied her for something she couldn't see. "Well... We've probably just been away from each other for too long." Even as he said it, she didn't believe his excuse.

Regardless, she leaned back in her chair and said, "I guess that's true." She would wait for the opportunity to change things, but it was just a little soon right now.

Shu's chest tightened as he wondered, How long, Kluke? How long will I only be a little kid to you? How long will it take for you to see that I'm the one who depends on you? And... How long will it take for you to see how I feel?

As their small meal started to come to a close, Shu began regretting his decision to come here in the first place. Kluke was probably living a happy and peaceful life without him around; it probably wasn't until he showed up (again) that she had become unnerved. If I left... If I didn't tell her about Noi and his power to revive Shadows... She would be so much happier...

When he realized that he'd become caught up with his thoughts, he snapped his head up in a panic. But there seemed to be no hurry - Kluke appeared to be just as lost in thought as he had been, if not more.

And unbeknownst to him, just as suddenly as he looked up, she came to a decision.

She moved too quickly for him to make any objections - she stood, then bent down to retrieve her backpack and swung it over her shoulders. Still going at a fast pace, she grabbed his backpack (which also contained the groceries, after he'd offered to carry them), and next, she grabbed Shu by his wrist and plucked him out of his chair. And finally, she started running.

Shu managed to yell, "Kluke, where are you going?!"

She laughed, breathlessly and cheerfully. It had been so long, so terribly long, since he heard her laugh like that. He hadn't realized how much he missed it. "Does it matter?" she called back over her shoulder.

They started to reach the town outskirts. Up ahead, he could see that the road changed from a cobblestone path to a dirt road, the buildings on each side replaced with flowing grass.

Still, he felt he needed to object, however slightly. "But- but what about-"

Once again, she laughed. "Listen to you, all nervous! What happened to my daredevil Shu?"

He sucked in a breath quickly. Her Shu... His heart started to beat a little faster.

They ran, reaching the hills where there was no path, but still running, grass bending under their feet.

Shu watched her as she pulled him along, her hair blown by wind that rushed past them. She looked so... free. Happy. Happy to be with him. Maybe he had been wrong about all of it.

She pulled him along - her hand felt warm and soft around his wrist. It felt like it belonged.

Shu decided that he didn't really care where they went after all - as long as Kluke was there, that's where he wanted to be.

Omake:

"AAHH!!!" "OCHICHI-SAMA~!!"

Noi groaned, resting his head in his hand, unwittingly pushing up some of his hair as he did so. "Why did I agree to stay here and look after these two?..."

... And it's done! :D That actually turned out much better than I thought it would. Writing this was very difficult for me; I had a lot of trouble fitting in the Shu x Kluke, as I often do when I'm writing that pairing during Tenkai no Shichi Ryuu. I suppose that's because of their changed relationship in Tenkai... I don't know what happened in the last episodes of the first season, but I know that Shu and Kluke seem to act differently around each other in the second season, so something must have happened between them to change their relationship. I'm worried that I might have interpreted things wrong... But if I did, I'll come back and fix it later, presumably after I've watched those episodes and seen what my error was. I also thought I would throw in that little "omake" with Bouquet, Marumaro and Noi; since this was supposed to be an alternate episode 8, I thought it would only be fitting for them to make a short appearance. ;) Though I'm a bit worried (again) that the omake spoiled the mood... Also, I probably should have included Andropov somewhere, but I couldn't find any place to fit him in... Maybe he was spending time with the children in place of Kluke or something, or watching them until she got back. :P Anyway, I have a quick, but important thing to mention:

I'm thinking of just shortening the name of this collection to Precious Memories, but I'm not sure... I would really appreciate it if you could let me know what you think in your review.

Well, I believe that's my cue. XD Everyone, please review if you are able - I'd like to know what you thought of this oneshot. :) As I'm sure most of you know, I'm horribly late with all of my stories... And even when I'm not late with my others, this collection always moves slowly. However, I'm still going to try to aim for 10 hits. So, whether it be this story or another, hopefully I'll see you soon! :D