Hello everyone! I haven't written anything in a long time, so I hope this isn't too horrible. I've been thinking of this for a while now. Botan just doesn't seem to get enough credit so I thought it'd be nice to get something like this out. Enough rambling – On to the story! Please read and review! Flames are welcome.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, nor do I own any of its characters.

Summary:

Yusuke reflects on his work as a Spirit Detective and muses over how much Botan really means to him. (Platonic love only, Yusuke POV)

Potential spoilers if you haven't seen the entire series.

Bingo! Bingo! You win the prize!

Those were the first words you said to me. As you can imagine, I wasn't happy to see you. I voiced my displeasure, but you didn't care. My attitude didn't seem to make any difference. You just floated there, laughing, as though seeing a disgruntled ghost was normal. I guess to you, it was.

How many souls did you ferry before mine? Hundreds? Thousands? How you've managed to maintain your bubbly composure still amazes me. Many of those souls must have turned their anger and confusion onto you. I did.

Now I understand what kind of person you are. It's in my guidebook! Rather than be scared or surprised, you yell a lot, and tell me I don't know what I'm talking about.

You knew me so well, and I didn't know a thing about you. I disliked you even more for that.

Yusuke Urameshi! Age: 14, Personality: impulsive and ill-mannered with a violent temper. He has no respect for authority and is a horrible student.

Looking back on it now, I think you've always understood me. Better than I understood myself, even without that guidebook of yours. Just one of your many talents, I guess.

After that incident, you did something even more unexpected.

You told me I had a second chance.

After I got my life back, nothing was the same. Hell, everything went crazy! But you stayed by me and kept me going the entire time. You saved my ass more than once, too. After scaring Gouki off, you gave me a new detective item that would later save my life. The concentration ring.

I was supposed to save this item for when your spirit energy got much stronger. It will give your Spirit Gun a huge punch but afterwards, you'll be completely exhausted. Only use it as a last resort.

I would've died again in my second encounter with Gouki if you hadn't come. Most people would've considered you stupid for what you did. But you saved me, Botan. You distracted him long enough for me to get my bearings, giving me the advantage that I needed. I destroyed Gouki soon after that. You were right about the concentration ring. I was exhausted after that and could barely stand. You offered me your shoulder, and though I wasn't too thrilled about the idea, you got me home. I'm not quite sure how you managed without tripping even once. You're much stronger than you appear, but you don't get the credit that's due.

After that day, I stopped underestimating you.

You know this could be a trap, Yusuke. It seems a little too easy...

That's what you said about our incident with Kurama. Weird. Of all people, you were the last one I would've thought of to be untrusting. But you're smart. Much smarter than people seem to think. Your head was in the right place.

Getting our mirror may be pointless if his wish destroys the earth.

You may be excessively happy, but you're not ditzy. You've got a vast knowledge of demons and spirit people alike. You've always got answers to my questions. And you're brave. Much braver than I could've imagined. First with Gouki, then with Kurama. What surprised me the most was your resolve to stay by me during my conflict with Hiei.

He's told me terrible things through telepathy.

I can't imagine the kind of things Hiei said to you. But even then you weren't afraid. You didn't even tremble. You were just as worried about Keiko as I was. We found Hiei's hideout, and upon learning that Keiko had been struck with the shadow sword, you immediately went to work on keeping that fake Jagan closed. You promised to hold it off as long as you could. I didn't realize you were dipping into your life energy. I didn't realize it was hurting you.

Selfless.

That's the perfect word to describe you. Selfless. And I admired you for that. I adored you for saving Keiko's life. Though I often denied it, you knew she meant the world to me.

With Kurama's help, I defeated Hiei. It was luck, though. I risked all of our lives on a gamble, but it worked. I don't think you were too thrilled about it.

You risked our lives on a "might"?!? What exactly would you have done if the Spirit Gun hadn't bounced off the mirror??

Mr. Impulse...that's me. Even though you weren't too happy, you understood. You were just grateful that the event was over. I know I never really said it, but I still can't thank you enough for saving Keiko that day.

After that, you were more than just my assistant. You became a sister to me, and I vowed to protect you with everything I had.

What haven't you been there for?

I don't think I can name anything. If you weren't with us physically, you were doing something for us. During the Maze Castle incident, you stayed back in town and protected Keiko. You were there when we had to rescue Yukina, and you even traveled with us to Hanging Neck Island for the Dark Tournament.

A spirit as pure as yourself, sitting among blood thirsty demons like it was nothing. Amazing. And again, you came to the rescue for the girls, erecting a barrier with Yukina to keep Toguro's power from reaching you.

I bet you didn't tell anyone you were suffering at the time.

What was it like? Transporting the soul of someone you love to the Spirit World. Genkai's death troubled you more deeply than anyone else. Maybe even myself. Feeling the loss of a loved one is one thing. Being the one to take them away... that's something else entirely.

But you did it. Even while battling your inner turmoil, you did it. You kept your sadness to yourself. You never did like it when people worried over you. But you can't help that, can you? It's in your selfless nature.

When I was kidnaped, it was you who recruited the rest of the Tantei to come find me. Not only that, but while inside of the house, you braved Yanagisuwa's staircase on your own. Not that you had much of a choice, but nevertheless, you made it out unharmed. I still remember trying to trick you into telling me your bra size. Your fiery response put me in my place.

I swear, my intentions were good.

I often wonder how you manage to keep your spirits so high. I don't understand it. Maybe you meditate at night, carefully locking away all of your problems. But that sounds like something Kurama would do.

Happiness can't be the only emotion you feel. I know. I've seen you cry. But you try to be so strong.

Strong for us. Strong for the Reikai Tantei. Maybe you know how much we need you.

During the whole Sensui thing, we left you outside of the cave. I know you didn't like the idea, but we did it for your own safety.

But thinking about it now...I think you would've been alright. You've proven that you can handle yourself. I understand why Hiei is the way he is when it comes to Yukina, though. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you. I don't like seeing my loved ones hurt.

When I came back out of the cave, you didn't recognize me. No one except Keiko did. You thought I was a rockstar. Imagine that! That's more in Kuwabara's department. But even when you realized who I was, you didn't reject me. I think...I think you tried to play with my hair. But that's just like you. To adapt to change so easily.

I guess you've never had a choice. Being the top ferry girl in all of spirit world requires you to be able to handle many situations. On top of that responsibility, constantly dealing with all of the Tantei? Quite the achievement.

You snuck all the way to demon world to see me when I hosted that tournament. You...a citizen of spirit world, knowing full well that demons would jump at a chance to kill you, came all the way to visit me. To make sure I was okay.

You'll never know how happy I was to see you that day. It was refreshing.

You, Kuwabara, Keiko, and the rest of the girls...for three years, you all waited for me. I can only assume it was you who kept encouraging everyone that I would come back. Thank you for not letting them forget me. Thank you for not giving up on me.
What am I really trying to say in all of this? I'm not even really sure at this point. All I know, is that I've got an amazing friend who's always been there for me. Someone who dealt with me this entire time, who always had my back. Someone I could trust and talk to. Someone I could laugh with. Someone who I loved dearly, and would give anything to make sure they were in my life forever. Someone to acknowledge when I had done something right with a cheerful "Bingo!".

Someone like you, Botan.

Thank you.

Alrighty, well, there you have it. My first piece of work in years! I'm not sure if I like it, but it feels good to have written something after so long.

As you might have guessed, Yusuke is much older when he's thinking all of this. I wanted him to be more mature in this so that's why he is the way he is. Sorry if he's too OOC.

Thanks again for reading!

Don't forget to push the little purple button!

-MoonlitSorrow