"Your mom, huh?" I stood up, brushing the dirt from my knees. "I'm sure she's just as wonderful as you."
Sakura blushed and looked away, her ears twitching in shyness, but then reached out and grabbed my arm with both hands, her fingers curling tightly around my sleeve.
The world shifted in that smooth, silent way of hers; the colors blurring, the air warming up, the hilltop breeze replaced by the soft hush of ancient gardens.
When the teleportation settled we stood at the crest of a gentle rise overlooking the retirement home.
"Wonderful?" she murmured with a weak voice. "My mother aside, I am nothing so… good."
"What are you talking about?" I turned to face her fully, the hand she wasn't holding coming up to brush a strand of pink hair behind her ear. "You're one of the most caring and tender people I've ever met."
