Foreword: Uhh… This is my first attempt at a Yu Yu Hakusho story… so uh… maybe try not to massacre me with reviews of how terrible it is. 'This is how a thought will be displayed.' "This is how dialogue will be displayed."
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for a computer, Microsoft Word, an internet connection, and my own original story line… So yeah, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, any of its characters and the like… Anything resembling something, unless otherwise noted, is purely incidental.
Special Thanks To: My buddy Bryan, for reintroducing me to the series.
"Aye, tha's a nice smell… The air 'roundabouts here makes ye want te retch." Scratching at the mess of red hair atop his head, Jin smiled cheekily. In his identifiably Irish accent, he said, "Jus' ain't clean, y'know?"
"Jin… Is there a particular reason that you're here?" The voice that responded to him was distinct. It was soft, yet provocative and forceful. It belonged to Kurama, the infamous spirit fox gone human.
Putting his hand up to his chin, the wind demon thought back on why he had come… But he drew a blank. "I can't really remember, truth be dandy!" he said with an airy grin on his face.
"I see… I figured you would have a purpose for visiting." Kurama turned towards his desk, long, red hair whisking behind him.
"Well, wha's so wrong with wantin' te visit me good ol' buddy Kurama?" Jin said innocently, glancing around the room with curiosity. "Where's tha' smell comin' from?"
Silently, Kurama procured a rose from his hair, and also motioned towards a vase of flowers set on the corner of his desk. "Jin, I hardly know you. How can you consider me an old friend?"
"Well… maybe I be wantin' a new friend." Jin strolled over to the redhead's desk and peered down at some papers. "What be this chicken scratch? S'all o'er the place!"
Kurama cried, "Jin! Please... do not disturb those papers… They are very important."
"Why? What'sa point o' it? 'Fraid I don't be understandin'!" Jin once again scratched his head, and his ears wiggled with inquisitiveness.
The young man placed the rose back in his hair, and calmly said, "It's called homework… It's something that humans must do when they attend school… So I'd appreciate it if you didn't disturb it."
"Yeesh! What's got your rocks in a twirly-doo?" Jin stepped away from the desk slowly, and scratched at his forehead.
"Twirly… doo? I believe that you mean 'knot'." Kurama stared at him with a steely glare through his pools of liquid jade. "If you're quite finished here, I must ask if you could please leave… I have numerous things to do."
Frowning, the Wind Master folded his arms and said, "Ye got a stick up yer arse or somethin'? I was jus' curious… Can't blame a guy fer dat, can ye? I think yeh need te get outta this stuffy room more often." Jin leaned in close to Kurama and spoke, as if he was trying to avoid being overheard, "Ye know what I be meanin' righ'? Get ou' on th' tow' an' 'ave a bit a fun!"
"I apologize if I seem uncivil… I'm a bit tense, and am lacking in sleep… Forgive me." Kurama inwardly sighed, 'I really do need to leave my room once and a while… I feel quite a bit like a hermit in here… locked away with my homework… School's not much of an escape either… Not with so many "love struck" girls there… I just desire a bit of peace… Perhaps that is something too valuable to ask of this world…'
"Ye should go for a wee bit of a soar every now and again… Jus' migh' do ye some good!" Jin levitated into the air, and folded his legs under him, as though he was sitting on the solid floor.
"Perhaps…" Kurama trudged over to his bed, worn out because of his hectic day. He simply lay down on top of it, and stared at the ceiling fan. "However, I feel quite comfortable on the ground…"
"Aw, ye don't trust me, do ye? I promise I wouldn' drop ye! Swear on me pointy, pointy ears!"
'I don't care, you goddamn leprechaun! Will you just leave me alone?! I'll be glad to talk to you, just not now…' Kurama blinked a few times, and sniffed a bit. "Good evening, Botan…"
"Whaa?" Bewildered, Jin turned around, and stared at the Cheery Reaper. "Tha's quite a sniffer ye got on ye… Can't say I'm surprised at tha' though…"
Botan smiled brightly and placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Well, hello there, Kurama… Sorry to bother you, but I've been sent to drag this miscreant back to Genkai's place…" Jerking a thumb at Jin, the kimono wearing girl scowled at the Wind Demon, who, in turn, grimaced.
'Oh sweet Jesus, Mary and Joseph… I'm in for a hell of a naggin'…" Jin mumbled quietly, though Botan and Kurama's excellent hearing still picked it up. He stared at them, and perplexedly said, "Wha'? Ain't a guy allowed to doss it every now an' again?"
Rounding on the demon, Botan pointed an accusatory finger at him and said, "Oh, no you don't, Jin! You screw off more than "every now an' again". Now you'd better hurry "ye olde ass" up or else you're going to get it when Koenma hears about this." Just to mock him further, the ferry girl had decided to imitate Jin's accent, which she did flawlessly.
Jin donned a face akin to that of a kicked puppy, and poignantly said, "Hey… tha's uncalled for… An' tha' las' par' wasn' even Irish… I would go back with ye, but I'd rather jus' go out for a bi' long'r…" He turned and put one foot on the window sill, preparing to launch himself into the night.
He never made it.
Botan had cracked him in the back of the skull with her oar, knocking him out, effectively silencing the Wind Demon. "Oh, no you don't!"
Kurama let out a sigh of relief, and closed his eyes for a moment, then turned to the blue haired deity, saying, "Hmm… Thank you… He was beginning to get a bit too loud."
"Not a problem at all, Kurama! Now I just need to drag him back…" Shrugging, the girl slung Jin's limp body over the back end of her oar, and prepared to mount it herself, just outside the window.
"Wait… Botan…" Kurama's pale hand reached out into the darkened air, illuminated by the moon. Between his fingertips was a flower, one that seemed exceedingly delicate and rare. "I know how much you enjoy flowers… I have no need for this one… Consider it payment for "pacifying" Jin for me." He smiled in gratitude, and allowed the girl to take the flower.
"I… umm…." Botan blushed, though it was unnoticeable in the night sky. "Th-thanks."
"Good bye." Kurama promptly closed his window and returned to his bed. There was nothing behind the flower… It was simply something he felt would be polite to do. Had Yusuke or Kuwabara, or even Hiei been there, Kurama would've been bombarded by a torrent of comments, wondering what was between himself and Botan… The answer? Nothing… They were friends, sure, but there was nothing romantic…
Kurama sighed as he rolled over, his eyes closed. 'Thank heavens I can finally get some rest now…'
There was a slight knock at his door, before it was opened softly. "Shuichi? I… heard voices. Did you have friends over?"
"No, mother… That was just my cellular phone… I was using it on speaker phone. Did I disturb you?"
"Not at all, Shuichi… I just thought I heard a girl up here… You know how I feel about that…"
Groaning, Kurama responded with her expectations of any female accompaniment, "Yes, mother. You want to meet any girl I bring by the house, and you think that I should be more open to finding a girlfriend… We've been over this before, mother."
"I'm just making sure you remembered, dear… You really should find a nice girlfriend, Shuichi… Then maybe you wouldn't stay in here, doing homework so much…"
"…"
"Shuichi? Oh… Dear me, he must be exhausted… He's already asleep… Goodnight, Shuichi."
Kurama finally had his peace and quiet, brought to him by his dreams…
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Sleeping uneasily, Kurama frowned… A familiar scent drifted into his keen nostrils, and he felt a slight breeze tousle his thick mane of red hair. 'I closed the window… It should not be open.' Still half-asleep, he reached up and scratched at the side of his head, and the long, red hair. He let out a heaving sigh, and remained motionless, determined to fade back to sleep. Mumbling softly, he said, "Close the… window… Mother… is that… Botan, I smell?"
"Mm, Bingo!" the blue haired woman shouted gleefully, with a sparkle in her pink colored eyes.
Immediately, Kurama jerked back against the headboard and his eyes flicked open, staring directly into large orbs the coloration of cherry blossoms. Botan's smiling, cheery face was merely inches away from his own. Though it surprised him immensely, his face did not betray any emotion. 'Why… is she so close? Hm… Why would she be here?' After calming himself, he simply said, "Pardon my current state… Good morning, Botan… Is there… something important I should know?"
Botan, dressed in her pink kimono, backed away for a moment, allowing the redhead to get out of bed. Snickering, the girl noted how Kurama's mess of hair covered most of his back, but left his upper torso completely exposed. 'A very well developed one at that…' Blushing a little bit, she watched as Kurama pulled on an undershirt, and buttoned up his white uniform jacket. He had forgone the usually pink suit, instead favoring a suit the color of alabaster. "Well… there are a few things that Koenma wanted me to tell you about…"
"If you don't mind, do you think that it could wait for a short time? Perhaps you could fill me in on the way to school?" He opened his door and held his hand out, towards the hallway. "After you, I insist."
Botan exited his room, and waited for him in the hallway. Though she should have expected to be treated so politely in the abode of the demon fox, the ferry girl was still taken aback, and struck by his courtesy.
"Is there something wrong? You seem to be staring at me strangely." It was a response quite befitting Kurama… It was direct, but gently spoken, so as not to embarrass the girl too much.
"Oh!" The girl laughed cheerful, then waved it off with a smile, saying, "Nothing! Nothing at all! Just lost in the moment… Oh, you know how it is." Botan nervously pushed some errant locks of blue hair off of her face. 'I… I wasn't staring at him strangely! I was just… uh…Okay, maybe I was staring at him a bit strangely.'
"I see…" He led the ferry girl down the stairs, and at the last step he offered his hand to her. "The last step is a bit tricky…" Once he had a firm grip on his friend's hand, Kurama helped her down the last step, which seemed deceptively wide, throwing perception for a wild curveball.
Though she still stumbled down, as her foot almost completely missed the step, Kurama was still there to catch her. "As I said… It is a bit awkward, unless you are used to it…"
"Well, thank you! You're certainly more… chivalrous thank Yusuke is." To thank the polite young man, Botan smiled brightly and hugged him tightly, taking him by surprise… as was evident by the astonished look on his normally stoic face.
"So, Shuichi… Who is your friend?"
"M-Mother…" Kurama's face reverted back to its usual, passive self, and he calmly stepped back from Botan a bit, and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Mother, this is Botan… She's a close friend of mine."
"Hello! How do you do?" The ferry girl brushed some hair away again, and extended a hand from under her elongated sleeves.
Kurama stood stoically, and watched as his mother and his connection to the Spirit World embraced, and began calmly chattering. 'Mother so loves the chance to reminisce about me… especially with my friends… I find it somewhat… bothersome.' "If you don't mind, I'll prepare you some breakfast for you both." Having said that, he busied himself in the kitchen, readying breakfast. 'Hm… I don't understand… Why would Botan hug me like that…? How odd… I did nothing special… Perhaps I am simply overanalyzing this situation.' Quietly whispering to himself, the ex-thief said, "People… Such irrational creatures…"
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"Do you understand why I've brought you here?" It was the voice of Koenma, the proxy ruler of Spirit World. He was very solemn sounding, despite his comical appearance.
"Hmm… 'Ey! What am I doin' standin' around all willy nilly like? It don't be fittin' a guy like me te be sittin' around when there's somethin' interestin' to be done!" Jin had completely tuned him out… The redheaded demon was lost in his own world of thought. A stiff cough from Koenma brought the Wind Master back to reality. "Oi! Sorry 'bout tha'… I just get meself carried away sometimes, like the blowin' winds, ye know?! Woosh! … Er… Ye were sayin'?"
"Erm… yes… I'd assume you don't know why you have been summoned here… Well, it has to do with your specialties…" The toddler hopped onto his desk and got down on his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face, "Oh please teach me how to use your powers!"
Scratching his head in confusion, Jin shrugged, "Eh… I uh… I dunno if ye could… I mean… I was jus' sorta born with 'em. I dunno if ye can learn it…"
Ogre quickly pacified Koenma, and handed Jin a case folder. "Usually we would have Botan run this to you, but she's indisposed at the moment… so we had to call you in personally. Just uh… read through the folder, and you'll know what to do."
"Gah, I can't make 'eads or tails o' these squiggly scribblies! It don' mean diddly squat te me!" Jin's smile faltered, as he succumbed to frustration for a split second. "Well… I guess I'll be takin' it to dandy ol' Kurama! He'll know what te make of tha'." Jin motioned to the folder and sauntered away. Waving behind his back, the airy demon fluttered out of the room, saying, "Bye, laddie! Oh man is it nice te be free!"
They heard the door close behind the redheaded ninja, and Ogre returned to his work. "Well… At least we know how to keep him happy…" Koenma said, sucking intently on his pacifier. "Just let him outside."
Jin's voice startled both of them. "Oh! By any chance, would the cheery lass… ye know, the ferry girl, Botan! By any chance would she be flittin' around with the fox boy-o? I think she has a wee bit o' a crush on the lad."
Laughing heartily, Koenma replied, "Well you certainly are perceptive… Kurama though? He's not exactly the type for that sort of thing… I wouldn't expect anything to come out of it…"
Ears happily twitching, Jin peered from behind the door with a wide grin plastered on his face. "I'm thinkin' ye be under-guestimating that one! Anyway, I'll be gettin' outta the way now… Aye, it'll be nice to hit the skies agai'." Once more, Jin left, this time for good however.
Ogre shook his head and said, "Such an odd demon… Hard to believe he was an assassin…"
Author's Notes: Basically, it was an introduction… I pray that you liked it, and will come back for more! I'll probably be updating on a weekly basis, so, tune in next week. It'd be nice to get a review from a few of you readers, so you could let me know how I did, good or bad.