Kurama's Decision
Botan nervously opened her apartment door and peeked inside to see if anyone was home, she didn't see anyone and blew out a sigh of relief. She began to make her way to her room and was relieved to see no sign that Keiko had heard her come in 'I'm home free' she thought as she quickly entered her room and shut the door.
The next morning Botan woke to the sounds of pots and pans, "Keiko must be trying a new recipe' she thought. She lay there in bed until wonderful smells began to fill her nostrils, not able to quiet her growling stomach anymore she got up and made her way to the kitchen.
Once she reached the kitchen she said "Oh that smells wonderful!"
Keiko said thanks and began to make them each a plate. Once they were both seated Botan began to eat and stopped suddenly when Keiko cried "Botan what is that on your neck?"
Botan looked confused for a moment and then her eyes widened in realization, she quickly tried to cover by moving her hand to her neck and saying "Nothing" but Keiko wasn't fooled.
"Botan is that a hickey?" Keiko asked surprised.
Botan blushed and said "No". Keiko wasn't buying it. She moved over to her friend's side and quickly moved her hand covering the mark. She studied the mark and said "Yes, that is indeed a hickey. Botan who have you been seeing?"
"No one" Botan replied her face flush with embarrassment.
"Well no one didn't give you a hickey, won't you tell me who?" Keiko pleaded.
"You can't make me tell you" Botan said as she stamped her foot. Keiko pouted and moved back to her seat to finish breakfast. Both continued to eat in silence and once they were finished Keiko began to get ready for work. Once Keiko was ready she waved goodbye to her roommate and told her she would be staying with Yusuke that night so she had the apartment to herself. Botan waved goodbye and sighed.
'Damn, why didn't I check before I got out of bed this morning. I should have known this would happen, Keiko would be the one to find out my secret.' Botan thought.
On her way to work Keiko called her boyfriend and told her that Botan had secretly been seeing someone behind their backs and asked him if he knew anything. He said no he had no idea, after a few minutes of talking he said he would try and find out more.
Later that day Yusuke had met up with Kuwabara and Kurama for lunch. They had invited Hiei but he just scoffed and climbed a tree. The three of them knew Hiei was watching them just in case any important information came up. After they had finished lunch Yusuke and Kuwabara had started bickering about something and Kurama was just watching the two wondering how they were ever friends. Kurama laughed and Yusuke stopped what he was doing, he was about to punch Kuwabara.
"Something funny Kurama?" Yusuke asked.
"You too, it's a wonder you are able to get along at all" Kurama replied.
AT this point Kuwabara piped in and said "Yusuke started it."
Yusuke was about to say something when he was cut off by Kurama. "If we are done here I have to get back to work." At that moment Yusuke suddenly remembered why he had invited the others to lunch with him.
"Wait" he said before Kurama could vacate his seat.
"Yes" Kurama said as he got comfortable in his chair once more.
"I remembered why I asked you both to lunch. Keiko called me this morning with some interesting news and I told her I would check it out." Yusuke said.
"Oh" was all Kurama said. Kuwabara was only half listening he was thinking about Yukina.
"Yeah, apparently Botan is seeing someone, she came home last night with a hickey." Yusuke told the others.
"Really" Kurama replied. "Well now" Kuwabara said.
"Yeah, Keiko tried to get her to tell her who she was seeing but Botan wasn't having it. I told her I would see if either of you knew anything" Yusuke said.
Kurama kept his cool on the outside but inside he was seething aaid "I know nothing, but if Botan is seeing someone shouldn't we give her some privacy?"
"No way" Kuwabara said "I wanna meet the guy."
"Yeah me too" Yusuke chimed in "I wanna make sure he's not some creep."
"Well I think when she is ready she will introduce us" and with that comment Kurama once again got up and started towards the exit. "Thanks for lunch Yusuke, I will see you two later" and with that he was gone.
Yusuke looked at Kuwabara who just shrugged. The two started bickering again a second later. On the street Kurama could be seen chewing his lip. He was unnerved by this information, thought for a few minutes and then said aloud "Am I jealous?" he received a funny look from some passersby and quickly apologized. He continued to think as he walked towards his work. He had never told anyone about his feelings for Botan much less Botan herself and was very hurt that she was dating, especially when it wasn't him.
'I should have told her a long time ago' he thought as he walked through the double doors of his stepfather's company. He sat back down at his desk and resumed work but had a hard time focusing. He couldn't take his mind off Botan. He thought so hard he became rather agitated and decided to leave early. He grabbed his jacket and walked out the door without so much as a goodbye to his coworkers or stepfather.
Botan was sitting on the couch reading a book when she heard the phone ring, she jumped up and ran to pick it up.
"Hello" she said.
"Hello my darling" the voice on the other end said.
"Hi!" she said excitedly.
While they were speaking unbeknownst to Botan Keiko had entered the apartment. Keiko saw that Botan was on the phone and secretly hoped it was her boyfriend. 'Maybe I can find out who he is' she thought as she snuck up on Botan trying to listen in on the conversation.
"Yes, I'll see you later, I love you too …." before Botan could finish her sentence she heard footsteps behind her and turned around. Instead of finishing his name she just said "Bye" rather quickly and hung up. Keiko was a little disappointed that she couldn't eavesdrop a little more but she now knew that whoever Botan was seeing had a name that started with a K.
"So are you going out tonight?" Keiko asked slyly.
"No, in fact I was staying in tonight" she answered hoping Keiko would leave her alone.
"Oh" Keiko replied rather dejected. She was hoping that she could spy on Botan and try and find out who her mystery boyfriend was. Keiko walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. She and Botan began to talk about their day until the phone rang, Keiko ran to answer it.
She came back a few minutes later and told Botan she was going to pack a bag and get ready to head to Yusuke's house. Botan acknowledged her and went to the kitchen to grab a snack. A few minutes later with her bag in hand Keiko bid Botan goodnight and said she would see her the next day.
Botan was relieved when Keiko left, she couldn't believe how close she had come to revealing her secret. She was ashamed that she hadn't told her friends about her relationship, but she just wanted to keep it under wraps, she was afraid her friends wouldn't care too much for her choice in partner. In fact, she was almost positive that Yusuke wouldn't like him, she couldn't really say what the others might think. She lay on the couch alternating between thinking and flipping through the channels.
Once Kurama got home he walked towards his room and stripped off his work clothes, he put on a loose fitting shirt and some sweatpants and sat down on the couch. He stared at the empty television screen and sighed audibly. He still couldn't shake the thoughts of Botan from his head and got up and paced back in forth, arguing with himself.
'Stupid, stupid, you should have said something. Then maybe she wouldn't be dating some louse' he thought.
He continued like this until the wee hours of the morning, it was very late when he finally was able to get some sleep, he slept fitfully and awoke a few hours later Botan still at the forefront of his mind. He decided to get in the shower and try and clear his head, he washed his hair and towel dried it. He made his way into the kitchen and was cooking breakfast when the phone rang, he ran to answer it and was surprised to hear Botan's voice on the other end.
"Good morning Kurama!" she cried.
"Good morning" he replied with a yawn.
"I didn't wake you did I? I didn't realize how early it was" she asked.
"No I was already awake; I couldn't sleep" he replied once again yawning.
"I'm sorry" she said. "Not your fault" he said while thinking 'Well it kinda is considering I did nothing but think of you all night.'
"Well I'm calling because I wanted to ask you some advice" she continued.
"Really?! About what?" he replied.
"Well it has to do with a boy" she said
"Oh" was all he could muster. His heart sank as Botan continued to describe what she needed advice on. After she was done he said "Botan why don't we meet for lunch this afternoon and I can help you with your problem".
"Great!" she cried and hung up without noticing she had not asked where to meet him. He laughed at her and quickly shot her a text saying where and what time to meet him.
Kurama trudged into work looking worse for the wear, his coworkers had never seen him like this, he heard them whisper about his appearance but paid no mind to it. When he finally got to his office he shut the door and slumped down in his office chair. He stared at the paperwork in front of him but made no move to conquer his work. He still couldn't shake this feeling of jealousy and it was driving him insane.
Kurama finally mustered up the resolve to start working and was surprised to see how quickly time had passed, he felt his phone buzz and looked to see a text message from Botan saying she was on her way to meet him for lunch. He stared at the screen and begrudgingly got up and headed out of the office to meet her. He walked slowly towards the restaurant and when he arrived he saw her sitting at a table sipping a water. He walked over and plopped down in the seat.
She smiled at him and he somewhat smiled back. He was about to ask her how she had been when the server came by to get their orders. Botan went first and Kurama didn't even look at the menu, he got his usual. Once the server left to fetch their food Botan said "thanks for meeting me today Kurama. I appreciate this."
"No problem Botan" he replied as he looked into her eyes. His gaze began to trace her features when they landed on her neck. Seeing the hickey made his blood boil and he tried hard to restrain himself and reign in his temper. He wanted to yell and scream his feeling for her but stayed silent. Instead they made small talk until their food arrived.
"So Botan, what kind of advice did you need from me?" he asked as he speared his food with his fork.
Botan had noticed that he wasn't acting like himself but didn't bring it up, "Well I just wanted to ask you a question."
"Yes" he replied as he began to chew his food.
"Well, I've sorta being seeing someone. . . "
"I gathered that from the mark on your neck" Kurama sneered.
Her hand flew up to cover the spot and she turned bright red "This is embarrassing. I… I"
"Botan, what is it you want to ask me?" he said trying to control his voice.
"Well, I was wondering if I should continue seeing him" she finally said.
"What do you mean? You like him don't you? Does he like you?" Kurama asked.
"Yes I really like him and he really seems to like me" she answered.
"So what's the problem?" Kurama asked before he took a sip of his drink.
"It's just I've never really dated before and I wasn't sure of what to do" she said turning red again.
"Botan all I can tell you is this, if you like him and he likes you then by all means continue on with the relationship."
"Thanks, Kurama" she said as she reached for his hand. He saw her reaching for his hand and he pulled it away rather quickly. She noticed his reaction and asked if everything was ok. He replied that yes it was and he was just tired.
"You're welcome" he mumbled. Botan looked at him once more and smiled. He tried to smile back but couldn't. She started talking once more and he interrupted. "Botan, why did you ask me for advice?"
"I was just too embarrassed to ask Keiko or Shizuru. They would want details and I'm just not ready to give them yet" she replied. "Oh so I'm the first one you've told?"
"Well not exactly, Keiko knows I'm seeing someone but not who."
"Why keep it a secret?" he asked.
"I just want to make sure it'll work out before I introduce him to the gang" she said as she finished her lunch. Kurama nodded and pushed away the rest of his food. Botan looked at him with worry but he ignored it. It was taking all of his willpower not to reach across the table and grab her and kiss her. He looked at his watch and saw that his lunch hour was almost up. "Botan I really have to be getting back to work" he said as he stood up.
"Well, thanks for meeting me" she said as she stood up too. They left together and she gave him a quick hug before she walked back to her apartment. Kurama just stood there and watched her walk away. Once she was out of sight he sighed and trudged back to work. He once more made his way to his office and sat back down in his chair. He stared at the clock and decided he couldn't stay here any longer. He sent a message to his stepfather saying he wasn't feeling well and that he was going home for the day.
As he walked home he thought about all the things he wished he had said to Botan during lunch. He was a fool. Once he reached his apartment he shed his clothing and lay on the couch his arm covering his eyes. He awoke a few hours later to the sound of knocking. HE got up and opened the door and was stunned to see Botan.
"Hello again Kurama" she said brightly.
"Botan, what are you doing here?" he said before he could stop himself. Botan pouted for a second before saying "I called your office after lunch and your stepfather told me you had left because you weren't feeling well, so I brought you some soup to make you feel better."
"That's nice" he said as he stood in the doorway.
"Can I come in?" she said as she held up the soup.
"Yes, of course" he said as he stepped to the side to let her enter. She had never been in his apartment before and she looked around and noticed it was very neat, just like him. He led her to the kitchen where she began to heat up the soup. He sat at the table and watched her while she stirred. IT didn't take long and before he knew it there was a bowl in front of him. He smiled as she sat down across from him and began to eat. "This is delicious" he said and she smiled.
"Thanks" she said as she sat watching him. Once he was done she took his bowl and sat it in the sink. She sat down at the table once more and was about to say something when he spoke "Botan, I'm sorry but I don't really feel too much like company. Can you come over some other time?"
"Of course Kurama, you need your rest anyways" she said as she got up and made her way to the door. He thanked her again and shut the door behind her. 'That was excruciating' he thought as he lay back on the couch. He shut his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep. His dreams were filled with images of Botan, her arms were wrapped around another guy, they were kissing and whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. He awoke with a start to the sound of his telephone. He looked down to see Botan calling, he had no desire to talk to her so he ignored the call and sent it to voicemail. His phone sounded again and he looked down to see she had sent him a message. He rolled his eyes and ignored it as well. He slept on the couch that night and for the next few days.
Kurama had never felt so horrible in his life, he decided that he didn't have the strength to go to work and stayed home for a few days. 'Why am I so depressed?' he thought to himself. 'I shouldn't be acting like this, its utterly childish'. Botan would call him and text him every day but he had no resolve to answer her. Finally, after three days of staying on the couch he decided enough was enough, he was going to get over this. He got up and headed towards the shower to wash away the past few days. Once he got out of the shower he made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a snack, that's when he heard a knock on the door.
'Who could that be' he thought as he went to answer it. He opened the door and was surprised to see a pissed off Botan. "What the hell Kurama?" she shouted as she stepped inside. He cringed at her raised voice.
"I've been trying to call you for three days, I tried your office but your stepfather said you decided to stay home and so I try to text you and you ignore me" she screamed at him.
"Botan I…." he tried to say before she cut him off. "Look Kurama I know something is wrong, I could tell the other day when we met for lunch. I tried to get you to talk about it but you wouldn't. I just want to know why you've been ignoring me. I thought we were friends and this really hurts me" she explained.
"I'm sorry Botan" he whispered as he went to sit down. She followed him and sat next to him. She reached out her hand and grabbed his and pulled it to her chest. "Kurama I'm worried about you; I've never seen you like this. Won't you tell me what is the matter?" she begged.
He pulled his hand away and stood up. She frowned and stood up too. He began to pace back and forth. She lay a hand on his shoulder and whispered "stop". He stopped dead in his tracks and looked her in the eyes. He could see they were beginning to fill with tears and his control broke. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close, she gasped at his actions. He pulled her so she was leaning against his chest and he leaned forward to whisper "Botan I love you" and before she could respond he kissed her. Botan's eyes widened and she tried to pull away but he just pulled her closer. She tugged herself free of his grasp and looked into his eyes. Before she knew what she was doing her hand raised and she smacked him.
He was shocked, he knew he deserved the slap but he never thought she would strike him. She turned around and stormed out of his apartment without a word. He sank to the floor and let a tear fall from his eye.
Botan stalked back to her apartment. She was seething, she never dreamed Kurama could behave like that and was angry at him for his confession. She swept into her apartment and saw that Keiko and Shizuru were working on a project. Both girls were about to say hello when they saw the look on Botan's face.
Keiko got up and walked over to her friend and said "Botan what's wrong?"
"I went over to Kurama's house to try and see why he's been ignoring me and what does he do? He tells me he loves me and kisses me" she exclaimed as she slumped onto the sofa. Shizuru and Keiko raised their eyebrows but were not the least bit surprised, they had assumed the fox had feelings for the ferry girl they just never brought it up. It was evident in the way he looked at her. Before either of them could say a word of comfort Botan piped up and asked "Why didn't he ever say anything?"
"Well Kurama is a very guarded person, maybe he felt that you didn't feel the same way and decided to hide his feelings" Keiko replied as she brushed Botan's hair out of her face. She could tell that Botan was about to start crying. Keiko turned to Shizuru and she nodded and went to find a handkerchief for Botan. Shizuru came back a few minutes later and handed the cloth to Botan who at this point was openly weeping.
"I don't know why I'm crying" she said to her girlfriends. The girls once again exchanged glances and Shizuru said "Maybe it's because you like him too?"
Botan looked at her in shock and said "But I've been seeing someone else and he knew."
Keiko chimed in and said "Maybe that's why he did it Botan, maybe he wanted you to know before you got too involved with this other guy."
"I guess that makes sense" Botan replied weakly as she wiped her eyes. "I think I want to be alone for a while" she said as she stood and made her way to her room. She shut the door and lay down on her bed and thought about what had happened that afternoon.
Keiko and Shizuru were worried, they had never seen Botan act like this. Keiko decided to call Yusuke and they formulated a plan, they decided the next day they would get Botan and Kurama in a room and see what happened. Keiko told Yusuke to call Kurama and get him to meet him at her family's noodle shop the following day "Don't tell him Botan will be there, just make up an excuse for wanting him there" she said before hanging up with her boyfriend.
Keiko went and knocked on Botans door, she entered when she heard Botan say quietly "come in."
"Hey" Keiko said sweetly. "Botan, how would you feel about having lunch with Yusuke and me tomorrow?" she asked.
"I don't know Keiko; I sure have a lot to think about" she said as she turned to look at her friend.
"Please, please" Keiko begged and Botan acquiesced. "Great" Keiko exclaimed as she sped out of the room. Botan just stared at the closed door and they lay back down, it wasn't long before she fell asleep. The next day Keiko shook Botan awake and said "Get ready, we're leaving soon to meet Yusuke."
Botan nodded and yawned. She got up and made her way to the shower. Once she was clean she threw on some clothes and they both headed out the door. They arrived at the restaurant before Yusuke, this made Keiko glad. 'This will give me a chance to get her settled before she sees Kurama.'
Keiko pulled Botan into the restaurant and sat her with her back facing the door. A few minutes later she heard Yusuke and looked up to see him walking in with Kurama. Keiko smiled and waved. Botan turned to see who Keiko was waving to and gasped. She turned back to her friend and scowled at her. "How dare you invite him here" she whispered to Keiko.
Keiko just shrugged and stood up to greet Yusuke with a kiss on the lips. Before Yusuke could sit she pulled him closer to her and said "Kurama, have a seat here. Yusuke and I have to go talk to my father about something" and with that the two sped out of sight.
Kurama sat down across from her slowly, not wanting to look her in the eye. She cleared her throat and he took a chance to look at her. He could tell she was mad and decided his being there wasn't such a good idea. He made a move to stand up so he could leave when she said sternly "sit".
He obeyed without a second thought. He stared into her eyes and saw hurt in them. He couldn't for the life of him understand why she would be feeling that way. Before he could say anything she said "Kurama, I want to apologize for yesterday. I had no right to strike you."
"Yes you did" he replied. "You had every right to do what you did. I had no right to touch you."
She was about to respond when he cut her off. "You see Botan I have had feelings for you for a long time, I just never expressed them. I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same way. So when you came to me asking about boyfriend advice I lost it. I couldn't stop myself I had to show you how I felt about you" explained. Once he was finished he sighed and slumped in his chair.
"Oh, Kurama. I've thought a lot about yesterday and I realized that I feel the same way. I guess I was just seeing that other boy because subconsciously I wanted you to be jealous" she explained.
"Well it worked" he said as he began to perk up a little. She giggled and continued "It took you kissing me yesterday to realize what I had been feeling all these years."
He smiled at her and leaned forward to take her hand in his. She smiled back at him and squeezed his hand in reassurance. They stayed staring at each other until Kurama said "Botan, what about that other guy?"
She laughed and said "Oh, I broke it off with him early this morning." She walked over to where Kurama was sitting and lowered herself into his lap. His eyes widened at her actions and he replied "Good. I didn't want to have to hurt him."
She smiled at her fox and said "He doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is me and you" and with that statement she leaned forward to kiss him. Soon the two were locked in a passionate embrace, this was how Keiko and Yusuke found them. They snuck out of the restaurant and left the two lovebirds alone.