When Freaks Fall

Summary: Name: Itou Botan. Sex: Female. Age: 18. Additional info: Attends a high school for special kids with superpowers and weird personalities... wait, what?

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH.

Chapter 1: Nice to Meet You

My name is Itou Botan. I'm eighteen, a high school student. I have sky blue hair, and jewel-like purple eyes. Although it's weird, I have the ability to see ghosts and fly in mid air.

In other words, I'm a freak.

I don't have any friends, and I'm single, haven't dated a guy even once. That's to be expected. I mean, people avoid me like I'm some sort of virus or something. I know they hate me, and I know they fear me.

Well, whatever. I'm practically used to it by now.

But now I find myself in a really odd predicament.

You see, because of my 'special powers', I've been causing havoc wherever I go. Not intentionally, of course, but difficult situations could've never been avoided before. So now I find myself expelled from my old school, and for some reason, I'm now supposed to attend a school for weirdos. A school named Meikuo Gakuen.

Not that surprising.

"Shush, people, shush!" I hear the teacher say from the other side of the door. Her voice sounds slightly muffled in the midst of the screaming and talking going around in the classroom.

I play with my skirt, while waiting for the class to pipe down. Then, after a few moments, everyone finally falls silent. The teacher opens the door then; by now, my hands have stopped fiddling with my skirt.

"You can come in now," my homeroom teacher, a woman with brown hair tied in a messy bun, says with a friendly smile.

I return the smile, before nodding. "Yes," I say, and after taking a deep breath to calm down my nerves, I enter the class.

When the students see the unfamiliar faces, the once quiet class starts to erupt in whispers and questions of who I am.

"How many times have I told you to be quiet?" the teacher practically yells, and the whole class is silent in mere moments. She fixes a glare on everyone in class, silently warning them not to talk again or else. When she sees that all attention is focused on her (and me, included), she clears her throat, and extends a hand at my direction.

"This is Itou Botan. She will be joining us from today. I hope you all be friendly with her, she's just transferred here under a few... uh, circumstances."

The teacher turns to me, giving me a warm and reassuring smile, as if saying 'Go!'

I nod in return, before turning my head to peer at each of my classmates' faces. "Um... I'm Itou Botan, it's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along," I say in a soft voice, the nervousness causing me to speak slowly.

With that, I walk towards the blackboard, and grab a chalk, before proceeding to write my name in kanji. "I... tou... Bo... tan..." I utter under my breath as I write the characters, something I do a lot.

I put the chalk down, before turning around to bow at my new classmates. They're all giving me weird looks now; some snicker, some blink, and others whisper and continue to scrutinize me up and down.

The teacher nods at the introduction, and then, points her index finger at a seat behind a redhead boy. I notice he's staring at me, his emerald eyes searching mine, as if he's trying to investigate something. I inwardly frown at this, but then shake my head and dismiss it as my imagination. Supposing that's my seat, I start sauntering towards the desk that the teacher had pointed.

But just as I'm two tables away from my seat, I TRIPPED. Or more like, someone tripped me. I close my eyes, awaiting for that moment when I would get a mouth full of dirt... but then I feel myself clashing against someone's body instead. I feel hands wrapping protectively around my waist, and I hear a masculine chuckle, almost amused.

I hesitate, but then I open my eyes slowly. I blink when I see someone's chest instead, and then, continue to look up to see who had rescued me from falling. I see the redhead's face; there's a touch of mirth in his eyes, his lips pulled up in a smirk.

"Are you okay?" he asks, and for some reason, tightens his hold around my waist.

Blood immediately rushes to my cheek, turning my face red in embarrassment. I quickly pull away from him, he voluntarily lets me go. "I-I'm okay," I mumble timidly, looking away from his scrutinizing gaze and his teasing grin.

"Sorry about that," I hear another voice say, and I avert my gaze to the owner, only to see a black-haired boy, his hair pulled up with a gel, and his brown eyes glimmering as he gives me a smirk. "Was only trying to take a sneak peek of your panties."

My face turns redder, in embarrassment and anger at his words. I make to give him a piece of my mind, opening my mouth, before closing it again as I realize this is just my first day and that I shouldn't be doing anything reckless. Instead, I huff and turn away and proceed to walk to my seat, all the while muttering, "Asshole," under my breath.

Then, I realize the redhead had heard, as I hear him let out another chuckle. My blush deepens, but I pretend not to notice his amused stare, as I take a seat on my new chair.

I place my bag beside my table, and when I look up, I notice the redhead still staring at me. "What?" I ask, my brows creasing in confusion. Why is he staring at me?

"Nothing," he replies almost immediately. His mouth then forms a grin, almost mocking but I'm not entirely sure about that. "Just that, shouldn't you be telling me thank you for saving you just now?"

My eyes widen, and a pink color tints my cheeks at his words. "Uh... sorry. Thank you," I say as I look away, avoiding his gaze and peering at my feet instead of his face.

"You're welcome," he answers curtly, but I catch a slight amusement lying dormant in the tone of his voice. I choose to ignore it and gives him a slight nod of my head.

"Now, kids, don't bully her. She's new, and that's not nice," the teacher chimes in, her voice in dismay at her students' behavior. With that, she turns to look at the boy who had tripped me and sends him a heated glare. "Urameshi Yusuke, anymore weird antics from you and I'm sending you to the principal's office."

Yusuke rolls his eyes in annoyance, and grumbles something under his breath, but doesn't really oppose her. Instead, he puts an arm on his desk, places his chin on his palm, and proceeds to stare outside class.

'Serves you right!' my mind roars in victory, pleased that he got his payback for pulling that trick on me awhile ago. The corners of my lips curl upwards to form a grin, before I turn to look ahead to avert my gaze at the teacher as she starts to speak.

Just as the teacher exits, the whole class starts to being noisy and loud again. I roll my eyes in irritation at this, all the noise bothering me. But then, some students come walking towards me; most of them being girls. And before I can ask them what they want, they start to ask me a lot of questions.

"Hey, Botan-chan, why did you transfer here?" a brunette asks.

"Yeah, did you cause trouble at your old school or something?" another girl questions, this time a brown-haired one with a smoke in her hand. Is students allowed to smoke here or something? "I mean, this school is a place for troublemakers, after all..."

"Forget that! Where did you come from?" a carrot-top asks, his voice bordering on flirting as he speaks with me. I almost laugh at this.

"Shut up, Kuwabara. Don't you have Yukina already? What are you doing, flirting with the newbie anyway?" the brunette from before inquires in a slight annoyed tone, giving him a punch at his shoulder. He grins in return, and scratches his head.

"Sorry."

"What are your hobbies?" a green-haired girl suddenly says, her voice timid but friendly at the same time.

"When's your birthday?"

"What's your height?"

"How about your weight?"

"Where do you live?"

I open and close my mouth to answer, but I don't manage as they all start talking simultaneously, making me dizzy. My head starts to hurt from all the questions, and I go to tell them to quiet down, but then a voice cuts me off before a word escapes my lips.

"Slow down, guys. Ask her one question at a time, poor girl's getting confused," the guy that tripped me from before pipes in, sauntering over my desk. He looks down, and instead of frowning when he sees the heated stare I give him, he sends me a grin, almost child-like, as he goes on, "Really sorry from before, I was only joking."

"Yeah, well. Your joke crossed the line," the brunette reprimands him, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Oh come on, Keiko, it was a joke! It wasn't meant to hurt anyone... Are you jealous?" Yusuke inquires, with a slightly hopeful edge in his voice, his grin widening ever so slightly.

Keiko blushes beet red in embarrassment (?) and cries out, "What? No way!" and crosses her arms, looking away.

For some reason, the two then starts to engage in an argument.

My brows furrow in bewilderment as I stare at Yusuke and Keiko back and forth, confused as to what's going on.

"Don't mind them, they're always like that," a familiar voice reaches my ears, snapping me out of my musings. I lift my head to see the redhead from before looking back, a smile plastered on his face. "I'm Minamino Shuichi, by the way, but my friends call me Kurama."

I raise an eyebrow his way. "Kurama?"

"Yeah, it's sort of a nickname. It used to be my brother's name, and I was pretty close with him, so people keep calling me that," he answers, before breaking into a laugh, "I don't know why though."

I blink, before frowning when I realize that he used the past tense whenever he spoke of his brother. I open my mouth to ask him why, but then, he adds, with a tilt of his head, his voice tinted in curiosity, "More importantly, why are you here? I mean, you must have some specialty, right... being able to come here and all."

"Oh," I say, and make a mental note to ask him later. "Well, I, uh... how do I say this..." That's when I notice all eyes are on me, making me even more nervous. "Uh... I was kicked out of school because I can see ghosts... and not to mention, I, um... I can fly..." I answer slowly, not entirely sure how to explain to them without it sounding too weird, but then I'm reminded that this school is full with weird kids, so... maybe they wouldn't think it's that odd.

Everyone is silent for a moment, before... they burst into a howl of laughter.

I blink, looking at them back and forth, confused at their reaction. What? What's so funny? I ponder, a frown coming to rest on my forehead as their laughter grows louder.

"D-did I say something hilarious...?" I ask after a few moments of waiting for them to stop laughing (they didn't).

Fortunately, the laughter soon dies down as I inquire this. Keiko is the first one to speak. "Sorry, it's just that... you got expelled because of that? How did that happen?"

"Um... the teachers and students were scared of me, so..."

"So they got rid of you?" Yusuke guesses, arching an eyebrow at me.

I bit my lip, before nodding my head in response. "Y-Yeah..."

Kuwabara shakes his head, and bites his lips, seeming as if he's trying to hold back his laughter. "Man, people are weird..."

"Well, it's pretty much the same for all of us anyway, right?" Kurama points out, and earns a few hums of agreement in return.

"Anyway..." Keiko starts, her pink lips pulled up to form a smile as she turns to look at me. "My name is Yukimura Keiko. You can call me Keiko-chan. It's nice to meet you," she introduces herself, extending a hand in meeting.

I can't help but return her smile, and accept her hand into mine, shaking it as I say back, "It's nice to meet you too... Keiko-chan."

She squeals in a way only girls would manage to pull, as if she's overjoyed by the fact that me, the new kid, just called her with the honorifics 'chan'. My smile evidently widens at this.

"I'm Jaganshi Yukina," the green-haired girl pipes in with her soft voice. She gives me a polite smile, as she adds, "I have the power to create ice with my bare hands. People think I'm the exact opposite of my brother, Hiei, who can make fire."

"Oh, you have a brother?"

"Yes, twin brother to be exact."

"Where is he?" I question, as I peer around the class, looking to see if there's someone who looks just like Yukina. But I don't see anyone like that, and can't help but frown.

Yukina seems to notice this, a giggle erupting from her throat. "He normally skips class, that's why you haven't seen him. We're not really that identical, he looks kinda different than me. His hair color, that is."

"Oh," I say, my mouth forming an 'o' as I nod in understanding. "So when can I meet him?"

Yukina puts a finger under her chin and appears to look thoughtful as she averts her eyes to the right. "Hmm... I'm not sure," she replies in an uncertain voice. But then, she perks up, her mouth forming a bright grin as she adds, "But I'll make sure to introduce him to you, okay?"

I nod once again. "Yeah!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you," Keiko interrupts, wearing a big grin on her face. "What's special about me is that I'm a genius. I don't really have any super powers or anything, but I have a really smart brain, so most people hate me, which is why I got expelled."

"They expelled you for being smart?" I ask, the smile that had been on my face now pulled down to form a frown. "That's stupid..."

"Well, it wasn't technically the school's fault," Keiko says with a shrug, "The kids there were kind of envious of me, so yeah... they framed me, and a lot of misundertandings occured, and that's why I'm here," she goes on, her story making me feel sorry for her.

Keiko notices the sympathetic expression on my features, and gives me a smile of reassurance. "Don't worry about it. It was worth it, you know. I mean, I got to meet all kinds of wonderful people and now I can actually say proudly that I have real friends."

The others smile at her words, nodding their heads.

Yusuke pats Keiko's head, causing the brunette to look up and give him a questioning gaze. He smiles at her, and then, the confused look on Keiko's face soon disappears, as she smiles back. Yusuke then turns to look at me, giving me an ear to ear grin.

"The name's Urameshi Yusuke," he says casually, and points his thumb at himself. "I can shoot guns out of my finger, I call it 'Spirit Gun' by the way... but I got kicked out of school because I was always picking fights."

"That, and you're always shooting your 'Spirit Gun' here and there," Kuwabara suddenly states, making the (") sign as he says the words 'Spirit Gun'. This earns a glare from Yusuke in return, which doesn't go unnoticed by the carrot-top, but he proceeds to ignore it anyway and averts his attention to me. "I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, I'm pretty much the same as Yusuke, except I can create a sword, which I call 'Spirit Sword'."

"Which you copied from my 'Spirit Gun', copycat," Yusuke butts in.

"I did not!"

"You so did!"

The duo suddenly start to have a fist-fight, all the while screaming 'I did not!' and 'You so did!' the entire time. I burst into a fit of giggles as I watch them, their fighting causing desks and chairs to be thrown all over the place, and the other students to move aside to cheer for them.

"Ignore those idiots," Keiko says to me.

I laugh. "Okay, sure."

"I'm Kuwabara Shizuru. As you can tell by the name, I'm related to that doofus over there," Shizuru says, pointing her thumb at Kuwabara who is getting beat up by Yusuke, if I might add. "He's my brother. I got held back a grade, so now I'm forced to be in the same class as him."

"You don't look like siblings," I reply, my mouth forming a smile.

Shizuru bursts into a burst of laughter at my words. "Yeah, I get that a lot," she tells me, before continuing to smoke. "Like you, I have a sixth sense and can see ghosts."

Her words take me by surprise and my eyes widen into saucers. She can see ghosts as well! And just when I thought there was no one else who could... "Really?" I ask, to make sure that I heard it right and to confirm that she's not pulling my leg.

She gives me a nod of her head. "Yeah, and I know how hard it can be sometimes, so... don't worry about it. There's nothing wrong with being able to have a sixth sense, you know. You can actually consider it as a gift from god or something."

My brows form a crease. "Really? I thought it was a curse..." I mumble under my breath.

A laugh erupts from her throat. "Yeah, really." Upon seeing the unconvinced stare I give her, she gives me a smile of reassurance and adds, "Trust me. You'll understand one day."

The frown on my forehead deepens, as he words brings me more confusion. I open my mouth to question her of what she meant by that, but I'm cut off by Yusuke who interrupts before I can get another word out of my mouth.

"So wait, you can fly?" he asks, excitement now evident in the tone of his voice. I peer at him and see the same excitement in his big, brown eyes. "Can you show us?"

"Oh yeah!" Kuwabara chimes in. "I wanna see that as well!"

"W-well..." I make to decline, and they see this, and quickly try to make me change my mind. They lean in closer to my face, pulling the cutest puppy face they could manage.

"Please?" they practically beg.

I pause, staring at their faces. After a few moments, I heave a sigh, and fling my arms in the air in defeat. "Alright," I finally relent, complying to their requests. Kuwabara and Yusuke roar, 'Oh yeah!' as they finally got me to agree.

I smile slightly at this, and shake my head in amusement as they proceed to jump up and down, like a bunch of kids. I close my eyes then and block all the noise coming from my classmates; trying to concentrate. Then... slowly, but gradually, I feel my body lift up from the chair, and fly higher, and higher... I hear sounds of amazement from my friends, but I don't open my eyes immediately. I heave a sigh, before opening my eyes slowly. I blink a few times to clear away the blurriness, and when I can see clearly, I look down to see everyone staring up at me with their mouths agape.

"That's amazing, Botan-chan!"

"Whoo, you rock!"

I begin to hear my classmates complimenting my abilities. A smile form on my lips as this is the first time anyone's actually amazed by my flying skills. People in my former life used to give me weird looks whenever I flew; back then, I wasn't sure how to control my powers, so my body would lift up from the ground from time to time before I'd realize what was going on. 'Guess I was at the wrong place, after all...' I think to myself, the smile on my lips broadening ever so slightly as I begin to wonder maybe this school isn't so bad.

But then...

"Oh yeah! I can see her underwear!" roars one of my obnoxious classmates, causing me to blush, my face turning deep red, as I realize that I was wearing a skirt. By now, all my male classmates are practically running to see my panties, so I hastily land on the ground. When I feel my feet attached to the floor, I let out a sigh of relief, trying to ignore the complaints I earned from my classmates as I did so.

"Perverts," Keiko mutter under her breath, glaring daggers at each of the boys in class. She then turns to Yusuke and Kuwabara who both have a pink tint coloring their cheeks. "You guys saw, didn't you?"

"N-no..." they deny, albeit they don't sound that convincing.

Blood immediately rushes to my cheeks, as I realize they had just saw my underwear. My underwear, for God's sake! Things couldn't get more embarrassing...

Yusuke and Kuwabara notices my red face. "Sorry," both quickly and simultaneously apologize.

I give them a small smile. "It's okay. It's partly my fault anyway," I respond, before taking my seat. A few moments of silence pass, but then, Keiko breaks it off.

"That was really amazing, you know, Botan-chan," she says, and suddenly grabs my hand. "I wish I could fly!" she whines, causing me to laugh.

"Yeah, you're really awesome," Shizuru agrees.

"That was the first time I ever saw someone flew," Yukina adds, with a hint of awe in her voice.

"Yeah," Yusuke says, nodding his head in agreement, "Thanks for willingly showing that to us."

"Whoa, Urameshi. You saying thanks? That's a first," Kuwabara teases, faking a look of surprise to annoy Yusuke.

This earns him a punch from the brown-eyed boy in return, which gradually and not surprisingly, escalates into a full blown fist-fight... again.

I pay those two no mind, and avert my gaze to Kurama, who had been quiet all this time. "Anyway, Kurama-kun... I didn't quite catch what your specialy is, mind telling me?"

Kurama blinks at me for a few times, before the corners of his lips curl up into a grin, and he sounds almost prideful as he says, "Well, I can control plants, you see. And like Keiko, I'm pretty smart, too, I guess."

"You can control plants?"

"Yeah."

"That's amazing! I would like to see you do that sometime."

My hands fly to my mouth as I realize how excited I sounded. A blush creeps up my cheeks in embarrassment when Kurama lets out a chuckle.

"Sure, Botan-san," he responds, his grin widening ever so slightly. The blush disappears from my cheeks as I return his grin with one of my own.

"There's actually one more special thing about Kurama," Yusuke's voice suddenly chimes in, and I turn to give him a questioning look, noticing Kuwabara who's lying face down on the ground but paying him no mind. "You can't make him sneeze," he adds, his mouth forming a secretive grin. He averts his gaze to Kurama then, wriggling his eyebrows.

I frown in bewilderment at Yusuke's word. Can't make him sneeze? Why? And how could people avoid sneezing? That's not normal! I turn to peer at Kurama with a look of curiosity, expecting an explanation, but instead of giving me one, he shakes his head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

My frown deepens at his response, wondering what that meant. But... if he doesn't want to talk about it, it's not like I can force him either. So, I keep my mouth shut, and nod my head in an understanding way, despite not really compreheding what he's talking about.

He seems to notice that I don't understand, but he sends me an appreciative look, as if he's grateful for me not asking him anything and prodding further into the matter.

"Well, you'll know sooner or later, so it doesn't really matter if he doesn't want to tell you," Shizuru exclaimes, and Kurama heave a sigh at this, but he doesn't say anything else.

But then, he suddenly gives me a weird look. His emerald eyes glinting, and his lips wearing a smirk, as he stares at me. Our eyes meet, and I arch an eyebrow at him, curious as to what's on his mind.

"What?" I inquire.

His head shakes slightly, a chuckle building in his chest and escaping his lips as he answers, "Nothing. You just looked great earlier."

I blink in confusion for a few moments, before realizing he was referring to when I demonstrated my flying skills.

I blush for the umpteenth time that day.

I follow behind Kurama as we walk, my eyes staring at his back as memories of the conversation in class comes flooding my head.

/Flashback/

"Anyway, Botan-chan," Keiko calls my name, and I avert my gaze to her face. "Who's your roommate?"

My eyebrows furrow at her question, my expression turning to one full of confusion. I tilt my head to the side, wondering what she means. "Roommate?"

"Yeah," she says, and after a pause, "You don't know, do you?" she asks.

"Know what?" I ask back.

"The teacher probably forgot to tell her," Kurama states, before Keiko can say anything.

"Man, you really can't rely on the teachers of this school..." I hear Shizuru mutter under her breath, and see her shakes her head in disapproval.

"You're one to talk, sis," Kuwabara makes a comment, to which the brown-haired girl throws her right shoe. It hits him right on the face, and he yells out a 'Hey!' but Shizuru decides not to pay attention to him, even as he starts insulting her.

"At this school, every student is supposed to stay at dorms. It's kinda compulsory," she explains.

"Oh," I say, my mouth forming an 'o' as I finally understand. "No wonder my mom and dad told me to pack my stuff."

Keiko and Shizuru slap a hand to their foreheads, groaning at my ignorance, as I grin sheepishly, scratching the back of my head.

"So did you?" Yukina inquires, deciding to join in the conversation.

"Not really... I mean, I thought it was kinda bothersome."

"Well, that's okay. This school gives us special treatment since we're special kids, so in case a student doesn't bring her personal things with her, they already prepared it beforehand. All you have to do is go to the office to ask for clothes, and stuff, and you're done," Yusuke explains, reassuring me that I'll be fine, even without my things.

My eyebrows move up in surprise. "Really? Wow..."

"But you should go to the warden's office, you know. Ask her who's your roommate, or else you'll be in big trouble if the headmistress finds out you don't even know what room you're in," Keiko warns.

"Yeah, she's really strict. It doesn't matter whether you're a new student or not, trust me, you won't be an exception to her," Shizuru adds.

I frown. "But, I don't even know where the warden's office is..."

Kurama stands up from his seat then, and whips around to look at me. "I can go with you if you want," he offers, giving me a smile.

My face immediately brightens up at his words.

"Yeah, let's go together!"

/End of Flashback/

As soon as class ended, me and Kurama went to the warden's office. But when we reached the warden's office, she had told us the rooms were all full in the girls' dorms, causing me to be in a bind. That was when she said I should room with Kurama in the meantime as he didn't have a roommate, and since I knew him as she tries to look for any empty rooms, just in case she missed anything.

'Don't worry, Kurama's a perfect gentleman,' the warden's words echoes in my mind, but that's not really what I'm worried about. Gentleman or not, it's embarrassing to be in the same room as a boy, goddammit! Not to mention, an attractive one at that...

A red color begins to taint my cheeks as I realize I just admitted that. Well, who wouldn't think so? With that fiery red hair of his, those beautiful emerald eyes, and that smile that could make any girl swoon... Okay, stop. Get a grip, Botan.

I shake my head to get rid of the thoughts of his handsome-ness.

'Well, might as well just deal with it... not like I can do anything about it,' I think to myself, as I try to persuade myself to accept the fact that I'm now Kurama's roommate.

But...

Kurama suddenly stops in his tracks, causing me to stop walking as well. I make to ask him what's wrong, only to stop myself when I realize that we're already standing in front of his room.

Room '219', it says on a wooden board attached to the door. Under it, I can see the name 'Minamino', Kurama's surname.

"Is this your room?" I question, in spite of already knowing the answer. I bite my lower lip as I realize I must've sounded stupid asking that question, what's with the name on the door and all...

Fortunately for me, Kurama doesn't tell me I'm being stupid or anything; instead, the corners of his mouth curled upwards into an amused smile, touching his emerald orbs with mirth as he answers, "Yes, it is, Botan-san."

He then grabs the doorknob in his hand, turns it, and opens the door, revealing the nice scent of roses. It takes me a moment to notice that this is the same scent Kurama always carries with him.

Kurama enters the room, and I watch as he starts to loosen his tie. He throws it on his bed, and I avert my gaze to the other bed, which is mine, situated at the other side of the room.

"What are you just standing there for?" Kurama teases, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turn to peer at him, my eyes blinking as I stare stupidly at him for a few moments until he adds, "Please, come in."

"E-eh?" come my stupid response. It takes me a moment, and I hesitate, but I finally enter the room. I reluctantly sit on the bed, looking at everywhere in the room except Kurama's face.

The redhead seems to notice my nervousness and he laughes at this. "Relax, Botan-san," he says in reassurance, his voice making my heart thump against my chest very, very loudly. "I won't do anything."

"R-right..." I don't mean to stutter, but I did. A blush comes creeping up my cheeks, as I realize how stupid I must seem to him.

His laughter grows louder and I can practically feel his emerald eyes on me. Fortunately for me, he stops laughing, and I inwardly heave a sigh of relief, as the thumping of my heart gradually slows down.

"I'm going to take a bath," he tells me, and I don't look up until I hear him open the door to the bathroom. That's when I lift my gaze to see his bare back facing me, a towel placed around his shoulders.

The red on my cheeks deepens at the sight, and I quickly avert my gaze to the floor. I wait until I hear him close the door to finally stop peering at the floor. I hear the sound of the shower running, and heave a sigh, before removing myself from the bed.

I scrutinize the room, noting how neat it is. I walk over towards a desk, leaning in to read the titles of the books situated on it. Then, after a while, I got bored of just staring at the book covers, and I make to sit back on my bed, when I notice a picture frame hanging on the wall beside the bathroom.

I saunter towards it, trying not to pay attention to the sounds coming from the shower. I stare at the black haired woman in the picture; she's carrying a small redheaded kid in her hands who I can only guess as Shuichi. This is his mother, I presume?

I keep staring, unable to get over how beautiful she looks.

No wonder Kurama's so good-looking. With a mother like that, he was bound to come out looking like a prince. I let out a small giggle at the thought, shaking my head.

Just as I was about to stop gazing at the picture, the door to the bathroom suddenly slides open and out pops Kurama, his red hair wet, drops of water trickling down his body and onto the floor as he stares at me.

I stare back.

For a few moments...

Until I realize he's wearing nothing but a towel to cover his... uh, ahem, his private parts.

Blood rushes to my cheeks, and I swiftly turn around. "S-sorry, I-I was..." I begin to stammer out excuses, trying to tell him that I wasn't trying to peek or anything. That's when I hear him chuckle, as if he's amused by my ramblings, and I ask, "W-what's funny?"

"You are, Botan," Kurama replies, his voice teasing. "It's okay, really. I know you're not a peeping tom. There's no need to apologize so much."

At his words, I whip around, momentarily forgetting that he was half-naked, and failing to notice that my hair had slapped him across the face. "No, it's not okay, Ku—'

Before I manage to finish, a sneeze sounds throughout the room.

I watch as Kurama rubs a hand on his face, and after realizing that my hair had tickled his nose, causing him to sneeze, I make to apologize for my mistake.

"Kurama, I—"

I'm cut off again, but this time, it wasn't by a sneeze, but by the feeling of one strong arm wrapping around my waist. Before I could comprehend what's happening, the arm around my waist pulls me close, until I could feel the contours of Kurama's body pressing up against me. I don't manage to think how muscly he is, as I feel a pair of lips touching mine, kissing me... Kurama's... kissing... me...

What the hell is going on?!