Botan hurried into Reikai upon receiving Koenma's urgent message to return A.S.A.P. She walked briskly past the ogres who seemed more frantic than usual.
"Oh Botan. Thank goodness you're here. We have quite the situation on our hands." George said opening the door to Koenma's office.
"That's it! I've had it! All five of you are in time out! Osuwari!" Koenma shouted.
"No! No time out!" A little voice yelled.
"Yeah don't wanna! Don't wanna!" Another shouted.
"Ahhhhh! Mommy!"
"What's going on in here Lord Koenma?" Botan asked confused entering the office.
"Botan I'm so glad to see you." Koenma said in with a sigh and plopping down in his chair. Botan walked around the chairs that were arranged around the room and gasped.
Five small children sat on the floor and peered up at her. Four boys and a girl, all suspiciously looking like her friends.
"AHHH! Don't tell me that…" She stated.
"Believe it Botan it's them."
"But how did this happen?" She asked.
"That at this point we are unsure of."
"Well why don't you just ask them?" She said kneeling down in front of Kurama. His fox ears twitched as he began to shy away slightly from her.
"The problem is none of them remember anything. They not only have been reverted physically into children but mentally as well." Koenma said folding his hands in front of him resting his head on them.
"OWWWW!" Keaka howled glaring at Hiei who was smiling widely. "No pinchy pinch!" She screamed at him before breaking down into tears.
"Leave my sista alone!" Kuwabara yelled smacking Hiei hard. Hiei fell backwards letting out a yell of his own and crying as well littering the floor with tear gems. Yusuke merely sat wide eyed saying nothing. Kurama reverted to his fox form and hid somewhere in Koenma's office.
"Oh please stop the madness." Koenma shouted over the crying. Botan picked up Hiei from the floor and brushed him off.
"There there Hiei. Your fine." She said soothingly. Hiei sobbed a little bit more before stopping. Next Botan took the still crying Keaka into her arms and held her.
"Kuwabara we don't hit. Do you understand?" Botan said sternly. Kuwabara looked at the floor and mumbled something.
"What was that?" She asked.
"I sorry." He said louder.
"Thank you." She said. Keaka's sobs died down and she began to struggle to get free. Botan put her down and she ran off to a corner to play with a curtain. Koenma stood up.
"Botan listen to me. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on them for me while I try and figure out what's going on." He said.
"Me? Why me?" She asked slightly shrieking.
"Because they know you. They may not remember you but they do trust you. Besides you have more patience than I do. Good luck." He said leaving the room. Yusuke ran towards the door slamming into it when it shut. Botan ran over to him to make sure he was alright only to be nearly knocked over. She looked down to meet two crimson eyes looking up at her.
"No go." Hiei whispered hanging onto her kimono tightly. Botan hesitated before picking him up.
"I'm not going anywhere Hiei. I'm going to make sure Yusuke is alright." She said continuing her stride over to him. Yusuke kneeled on the floor looking completely defeated.
"Yusuke are you aliright." Botan said placing a hand on his back
"Mommy gone. Mommy no come back." He said sadly. Botan felt her heart break knowing well that Atsuko must have left him many times by himself for who knows how many days on end.
"It's alright sweetie. She's just a bit busy right now but I'm here. Okay?" Botan said smiling. Yusuke looked up at her and smiled.
"Botan-chan." He said quietly before getting up and running over to Kuwabara who was using Koenma's stamping seal on himself.
"Tattoo." He said proudly to Yusuke. Yusuke looked at it and laughed.
"Me too! Me too!" Yusuke shouted letting Kuwabara stamp his hand. Botan sighed and looked around the room to see Keaka had managed to climb half way up the curtain and was now hanging on for dear life with wide eyes. Botan gasped and tried to put Hiei down who grabbed onto her even tighter.
"No! No down!" He shrieked in her ear. Botan, still carrying Hiei, ran over to grab Keaka from the curtain. Keaka wrapped her arms around Botan's neck and laughed.
"I scare you?" She asked innocently.
"Yeah you did. Don't do that again." Botan said. Keaka nodded as Botan put her down. Botan turned around only to hear a growl.
"Doggy!" Keaka yelled happily. Botan whipped back around to see Kurama behind the curtain. He snapped and growled at her none to happy Keaka had found his hiding spot.
"Umm Keaka sweetie. I don't think Kurama wants to be bothered right now." Botan said not really knowing what he may do to her in his full fox form. Botan grabbed Keaka away who screamed she wanted to pet the doggy.
"Here play with your brother and Yusuke okay?" Botan said putting her next to them at they tore up blank pieces of paper.
"Alright." Keaka said sitting next to them grabbing a pen to scribble with. Botan slowly walked over to the curtain and looked at Kurama. She held out her hand to him.
"It's okay Kurama. No one will hurt you I promise. We're all friends here." Botan said quietly. Kurama backed up a little bit before taking a step towards her to sniff her out. Slowly he made his way out and looked at Hiei sniffing him as well. Hiei pouted and raised a hand to smack Kurama but Botan stopped him.
"No Hiei. We don't hit remember?" Botan said grabbing his little hand. Hiei sighed putting his head on her shoulder. Kurama's gaze fell upon Yusuke, Kuwabara and Keaka.
"You may want to transform or else she'll be all over you." Botan said indicating Keaka who hadn't noticed Kurama had come out yet. Kurama looked back at Botan and went behind the curtain again. A few minutes later he walked out appearing as a small child except of course for fox ears and a tail. He stood next to Botan and watched the other three play. He looked up at Botan as if asking for approval to go over.
"Go ahead you don't have to ask." She said. Kurama strode over and sat next to Yusuke.
"Doggy boy!." Keaka said trying to grab one of Kurama's ears. Kurama flinched away.
"I'm a fox." He said in a soft tone.
"I'm a girl." Keaka replied.
"My name's Kurama. What's your name kid?" He asked Keaka.
"I'm Keaka." She said
"You know them?" He asked pointing to Kuwabara and Yusuke.
"My brother Kazuma but him I don't know." Keaka said shrugging.
"That's Yusuke." Kuwabara answered before Yusuke could.
"How you know that?" Keaka asked. Kuwabara shrugged.
"Don't know." He said returning to his drawing. Kurama grabbed a marker and began to draw as well. Botan sighed sitting down in a chair. She glanced at Hiei to see if he was still awake. His eyes watched his team mates happily chatter in some childish language only they could understand.
"Want to get down and play too Hiei?" Botan asked softly. Hiei shook his head retightening his grip on her kimono.
"Okay you don't have to if you don't want to sweetie." She said. Half an hour passed with not much occurrence. The drawing became boring and the four sought out other means of entertainment. Kuwabara and Yusuke fought playfully on the floor as Kurama pointed out pictures of flowers to Keaka in a book.
"No don't rip it out!" He yelled angrily at her. Keaka looked at him sadly handing his the ripped picture.
"Fix it?" She asked sweetly. Kurama growled at her.
"I can't! You broke it!" He yelled at her again. Keaka sobbed before she began to cry. Botan knew this was her cue and got up.
"Kurama that wasn't nice to yell at Keaka like that. Say your sorry." She said taking Keaka in her other arm.
"But she did it on purpose." He retorted defending himself.
"That may be so but still you scared her when you yelled." Botan said. Kurama sighed and mumbled he was sorry before closing the book. He jumped up and went over to tumble with Yusuke and Kuwabara. Keaka rested her head against Botan's shoulder after she had calmed down. Botan sat back down holding both Hiei and Keaka in her arms. She glanced down at them every few minutes to see them staring at each other. Hiei put out his hand and poked Keaka's nose.
"No stop it. Sleepy." Keaka said knocking his hand away lightly. Hiei nodded yawning. The last time Botan glanced at them they were fast asleep.
"Botan-chan. I'm tired." Yusuke said rubbing his eyes..
"Me too." Kuwabara said climbing onto the couch Koenma kept in his office.
"Me three." Kurama replied. Botan smiled at them and walked over to the couch with Yusuke and Kurama close behind. Yusuke climbed next to her while Kuwabara cuddled against her side. Kurama sat down by her feet.
"Botan-chan. Do you know any lullabies?" Kuwabara asked half asleep. Botan looked at him thinking to herself. There was one that her mother used to sing to her centuries ago.
"I don't know if I remember it all." She said softly.
"Do your best and have no regrets." Kurama said from the floor resting against her legs. Botan smiled and began.
"Baby mine don't you cry. Baby mine dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart never to part baby of mine."
Yusuke cuddled closer to her as Kurama climbed onto the space in her lap not occupied by Keaka and Hiei.
"Little one when you stray don't you mind what they say. Let those eye's sparkle and shine never a tear baby of mine. If they knew sweet little you they'd end up loving you too. All the same people who scold you what they'd give just for the right to hold you."
Botan yawned and shut her eyes.
"From your head down to your toes your not much goodness but your so precious to me, sweet as can be baby of mine. Baby of mine." She finished singing and dozed off as well.
Hiei was the first to wake up confused of his surroundings and even more confused as to why he was in Botan's arms.
"What the hell?" He asked looking at Keaka and Kurama as well. Kuwabara stirred and woke up.
"Whoa! What are we doing all cuddled up to Botan like this?" He asked loudly enough to wkae up Keaka and Kurama.
"Huh?" Keaka asked just as confused. "How did we make it back to Reikai?" She asked.
"Anyone remember what happened after Hitsurugi hit us with that smoke cloud?" Kurama asked. Everyone remained silent.
"Hey Urameshi alright?" Kuiwabara asked poking him.
"I know how to get him up" Keaka said getting leaning over Hiei.
"Hey Yusuke wake and bake buddy." She whispered. Yusuke jumped up.
"I'm up. Hey what's with you guys hanging all over Botan?" He asked.
"You were too." Hiei said. Yusuke rubbed his head.
"I feel like I blacked out." He said. The others nodded in agreement.
"What's those papers on the floor?" Kuwabara wondered aloud walking over.
"Anything to lend a clue?" Kurama asked standing as well.
"I don't know just looks like little kid scribbles to me." He said holding one up. Yusuke picked up Koenma;s seal and looked at his hand. Kuwabara in turn looked at him arms. Kurama reverted to his human form eyeing the curtain.
"Okay I have a sure fire way to solve this." Keaka said standing up.
"And that is?" Yusuke asked as she made her way over to the security camera. She popped it open and took out the tape.
"Lets go to the movies." She said putting the VHS into Koenma's VCR. The events of earlier played on the screen. The five stood side by side some what stunned.
"Oh so that's what happened." Keaka said after it was finished. Yusuke and Kuwabara nodded as Hiei's face grew red. Kurama glanced over at Botan.
"Well I must say she certainly has a lot of patience." He stated.
"Yeah no kiddin'." Yusuke said.
"We should do something for her for taking care of us." Keaka said.
"Yeah that's a good idea but what?" Kuwabara asked.
"I'm sure we'll think of something." Kurama said putting Botan into a laying position.
Botan jumped up surprised that they were gone and panicked. She searched the room yelling for them when she noticed a piece of paper propped up on the desk. Laying beside it was a rose and two crimson tear gems. Botan picked up the paper and read it.
Thank you for everything Botan you truly are a wonderful friend –Kurama
You're a sweetheart Botan. Sorry for being a brat. Love ya girl –Keaka
Thanks for taking care of us you're the best. –Kuwabara
Yeah what they said. Thanks Botan. –Yusuke
Thank you. –Hiei
Botan smiled to herself folding the paper and putting it in her pocket.
"What a day. I swear I am glad I never had kids." She said picking up the rose and the gems. She glanced over at the scribbled papers that were on the desk and felt a small twinge in her chest.
"It was fun though." She said leaving Koenma's office.