Hey all! This
is one of those interesting things that I've just started working on in my
spare time. I started thinking to myself…. Botan is soooo
bubbly all the time….could it be disguising something
else? Perhaps…. Well, Combatants de Liberte is still
my main KB fic, but I thought I'd just type this one out and see how it fared. Ahem, and there will
be a change…. Kurama no longer has a little brother. Instead, he has a little
sister who happens to be three.
Expect to be a little lost in chappie 1. I'll tie everything
together in chappie 2. that is, if you review…… otherwise, this turns
into a one-shot!
Reviews and flames alike are welcome!
Author- Kawaii Lara-chan
Title- Not ANOTHER Botan
Story!
Rating- PG (expect to go up later)
Summary- Oh, but it is. What happens when Botan is being used against someone
she deeply cares about as a friend? Or at least, she thought he was just a
friend… Perhaps he's more? KuramaBotan, R&R PLEASE!
Disclaimer- Yu Yu Hakusho
and all affiliated characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.
The ramen shop was quiet as it had been for days and days. No
bubbling laughter could be heard tinkling off of its walls, no shrieking and
giggling noises of delight were uttered there anymore. Keiko, Yusuke, Kuwabara,
and Kurama were all sitting in one of the worn leather booths and staring down
at the lightly misting rain. It was around 2 o'clock on a Friday, the lunch
crowd had died down and it was just the four of them. Some spring
break. It had just started today, and already they were bored beyond
belief.
Keiko drew her knees up in front of her and let out a sigh. "Hmmmm. Something's missing, you guys…" The other three boys continued staring off into space. "…Something's Missing……" No reaction. "I SAID SOMETHING'S MISSING!"
"Oh! KEIKO, DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Keiko's shouting
made Yusuke jump out of his chair. "AND WILL YOU STOP YELLING!"
"WHO'S
YELLING?!" she snorted.
For the next
couple of minutes, Yusuke and Keiko continued screaming at each other while
Kuwabara and Kurama took in the sights outside the window.
"I can tell
you what's missing." Kuwabara said finally, his voice disenchanted.
"What?" Kurama
had his face pressed against the palm of his hand and his mouth was turned down
into a frown.
"I'll give you
a hint," Kuwabara went on. "What has blue hair, pink eyes, and flies? Botan. We're missing Botan." Kurama looked up at the mention
of her name.
"What, Botan?
C'mon Kuwabara, every time she comes around here, it's always work, work, work
for us and we never get a minutes re-"
SMACK!
A large red
hand print shone on Yusuke's face and Keiko sat behind him scowling. "Gee
Keiko, I hope that didn't hurt your HAND too much…" he said, his voice dripping
with sarcasm. "And WHAT was THAT for?"
"Did you
forget that you were talking about my best friend? Or are you really that
cold-hearted, Urameshi Yusuke? Sometimes, I cannot
believe your lack of tact, you-"
"Well, I'll be
going now." Kurama stood up abruptly and made his way towards the door, his
hands in his pockets.
"Wait, Kurama!
I'll come with ya!" Kuwabara jumped to follow him.
"No." Kuwabara
was taken aback. Kurama hadn't meant for his voice to come out so cold. "I am
just going for a short walk. By myself." He tried to
finish politely.
"O…ok, Kurama.
I guess we'll see you later then?" Keiko phrased it like a question, but she
never received an answer. He was already gone by the time she finished.
Kurama walked along the sidewalk for some time, his step scraping
the pavement with a lack of enthusiasm uncharacteristic of him. Despite the
softly falling rain, people were crowding the streets. The droplets were warm
against Kurama's skin and could almost be classified as fog rather than rain.
Shortly, he reached a park and took his place on one of the benches. A little
girl ran around stomping puddles in her mackintosh and on the other side, two
lovers held each other under a bright green umbrella that was almost the color
of Kurama's eyes. The girl had her arms entwined around the smiling boy and her
soft laugher could be heard all the way across the park. For some reason, the
sight of the couple pained him. Who was he kidding, he
knew why watching people in love made him feel this way. It was all because of…
Botan.
When Kuwabara
had let her name roll off of his tongue, something had yanked hard at Kurama's
heartstrings. It felt like a burning desire, and the image of her smiling face
conjured right before his opened eyes, hovered for a minute, then
disintegrated. He counted back on his fingers.
"Four months."
He breathed. Four months of quiet, no missions, no word from Koenma, four months of dead silence from the other realms.
And yet, in those four months, Kurama had begun to feel a loneliness he had not
experienced since he was Youko.
There was no
denying that he had more than just platonic feelings for the ferry girl, but he
had kept himself distanced from her. He did not want his past becoming tangled
in her hopeful future….
But even
though he kept himself aloof from even the possibility of romance, seeing Botan
even once and awhile quelled his desires for the development of a relationship.
Just looking at her was enough to make him happy for eternity.
But now, four
months had passed since he had heard her laughter, smelled her scent drift
before his sensitive kitsune nose. And he needed to
see her, to know that she was safe would put him at
peace with the worlds.
Until then, the
sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach would gnaw at his innards.
He reached his
hand back to smooth his now semi-wet hair and pulled out a white rose that had
been hidden deep within his blood red locks. Placing it between his hands, he
twirled it in his fingers like a spindle. In the process, one of the thorns
snagged his skin causing scarlet to flow from the gash. He didn't notice,
though. He merely continued staring off into the distance, the rose collecting
more and more water droplets with each passing second.
"Botan." Under his breath he called her sweet name.
"You of all people, Kurama! Talking about a girl behind her
back! Secrets, secrets are no fun, you know…!" A giggle floated over the air
from behind the park bench. Kurama jumped up to his feet and wheeled around in
shock.
"Botan!" A smile worked its way onto his refined features.
She laughed again. It made him so happy, to hear that laugh… There she stood,
right before his eyes in a pair of flared jeans and a green sweater that made
the color of her hair pop.
"You fend off evil Saint-Beasts and yet you can't even defend yourself against your own rose? Tsk, tsk…" She took his wounded hand in hers and held it up to the rain, let the water cleanse it. Then, with the pressure of her fingertips she tried to stop the bloodflow. "Silly… all pretty things have thorns…" Botan mused under her breath.
"Even you?" Kurama chided. She did not answer and continued staring down at his hands. Kurama took in her delicate features; the wisps of blue hair falling out around her ponytail, her eyes turning a beautiful deep magenta as they reflected her surroundings.
"There!" She said as she released his hand.
"I now pronounce you cured! See, Kurama, I told
you I had healing powers!."
"So you do,
Botan-San…" Kurama stared down at his wound.
"Now, don't
touch it, you hear me? You'll just cause it to start bleeding again…"
"Yes, mother,
I understand." Kurama chuckled, his charm radiating into the air around him.
For a few
seconds, a comfortable silence enveloped the two.
"So,
Botan…what are you doing here? Is everything all right?"
"All right? Oh, you mean in the other realms… yes, of
course… I, well, I…" She stumbled on her words, seeking to make them come out
right. Finally, she just blurted them out. "It's time for my vacation…I get a
four-day weekend once every century by Spirit World labor laws…and well, since
I don't really know anyone else outside you and the gang… I came for a short
visit… but suddenly, I'm feeling like a burden, so I guess…" She stood up, her
cheeks tinted with a light blush. She had not anticipated that the Rekai Tantei members might not
want to see her. "I guess I' better be going…" She looked around for her oar.
"Wait,
Botan-San, hold on a minute! I thought you said you had four days off."
"I do, but I
know I represent work to you all, and I don't wanna…"
"You worry too
much, Botan-San. Come with me, everyone else is down at Keiko's ramen shop."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up like two dancing lanterns. "You
all want me around?"
"Why wouldn't I…I mean, we…" Kurama was already walking back towards the shop, "besides, it's wet and cold out here. You'll catch cold if you stay out here much longer. Come with me." He kept his face straight ahead so Botan couldn't see the smile on his face as he heard her squeal and run to catch up with him.
Well, what did you think?
Liked it? Hated it? TELL ME! Reviews and flames alike are quite welcome! I have
to get enough reviews to continue on, so R&R or
this turns into a one shot!!!
ja ne!
[larachan]
