Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Sugar
Summary: ONE-SHOT: When Kurama takes her out for some ice cream, Botan finds out a little too late that he's up to no good.
"Hello, Botan."
The ferry girl whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice. She caught sight of a tall redhead, the corners of his lips curled upwards into a smile. Her face immediately brightened up with a smile.
"Oh, hello, Kurama!" Botan greeted back, cheerful as ever.
"How are you doing?" he asked her.
"I've been doing fine. Koenma's been a little rough on me, telling me to do this, do that... but you know how he is."
The fox arched an eyebrow at her in question. "And you're okay? If he gives you too much of a hard time..."
Kurama didn't manage to finish when Botan cut him off. "Oh, don't worry about lil' old me. I'll manage, I'm used to it by now." She dismissed him with a wave.
He smiled. Something about the girl's diligence always amazed him. "If you say so."
"Anyway," she started, changing the subject, "What are you doing? Is there something you need from Koenma? You rarely visit the spirit world."
Kurama's smile visibly widened. "Well, since college exams are over and it's summer break, I thought I might pay my fellow friends a visit."
Botan's mouth formed an 'o' in understanding, before curving upwards into a grin. "So, how are the others? When can we meet them?" she inquired impatiently. Being busy in spirit world, poor Botan couldn't find time to see her friends.
The redhead shook his head. "I'm afraid it'll be just us, Botan. The others had plans, so they're off doing their own thing."
Her grin faltered slightly. "Just us?" she echoed. Despite feeling happy over the fact she got to see Kurama, Botan couldn't help but feel disappointed that she wasn't able to hang out with the others.
Kurama seemed to notice the sad look she had on her face. "It's okay. It'll be fun, even if it's just the two of us." He paused when he realized something. "But, are you busy? I wouldn't want to disturb you while you're on duty..."
Botan's expression changed at Kurama's word of reassurance. The grin was back on her face now as she beamed, "No worries! I only got one soul to ferry, and I did that a while ago, so I have a lot of free time."
She made a 'peace' sign, and Kurama laughed.
"That's good then."
"So, what do you wanna do?" Botan asked him as her grin broadened, showing her pearl white teeth, as she was barely able to contain the excitement.
A thoughtful expression crossed Kurama's features. He tilted his head, thought it over and after a while, "We could get some ice cream," he told her. "My treat," he added, a smile now tugging at his lips.
"Wonderful!" the ferry girl cheered and pumped her fist in the air. She jumped in joy a few times, realized what she was doing and proceeded to giggle sheepishly. "Sorry. I made a fool of myself."
Kurama bit his lip to hold back a laugh. Although she seemed childish, Kurama hardly minded. He shook his head in reassurance in return, but uttered, "You're really funny, Botan."
She tilted her head. "I am?"
He nodded his head. "Yes."
She blinked in confusion, wondering what he meant before shrugging it off. "Never mind." She grinned at the redhead. "Wait for me while I get ready, okay?" she told him, and pointed at her kimono. "It hardly seems appropriate to go out wearing this, after all."
Kurama smiled. "I understand."
"Right. So, you'll wait for me, right?" She then grabbed Kurama's hand, pulled out his pinky finger and intertwined it with hers, much to Kurama's confusion. "I promise I won't be long. Pinky promise!"
A soft chuckle escaped him, mirth dancing in his eyes at her slightly childish display of behavior. He watched as she slowly removed their pinky fingers from their position.
"Take your time, Botan," he called out as the girl strolled off excitedly.
"So, how have you been, Kurama?" Botan questioned curiously, as she licked her strawberry ice cream.
Kurama watched her as she wiped away a drop of strawberry ice cream from her face. A smile formed on his lips; she seemed so innocent and cute, sometimes he'd wondered if she really was a ferry girl.
He went back to his chocolate ice cream before, "I've been doing alright, I guess. College exams are over and I got good grades, so yeah," he said in response.
Botan laughed. "Is that all you care about, Kurama? Good grades?" she jokingly asked, and playfully poked him by the shoulder. "How about your mother? How's she doing?"
Kurama licked off the chocolate ice cream from his lips, before turning to look at her with a smile. "She's been doing just fine, Botan. My step-father's taking really good care of her. She seems really happy."
"Well, that's fantastic then!" Botan beamed happily, glad to hear the news.
"Yes, it is."
"So, does that mean you like your step-father?" she asked, and leaned in closer to him. She was blissfully ignorant of the pink tint that had colored Kurama's cheeks as their shoulders brushed.
He cleared his throat, in an attempt to cover his embarrassment. "Yes. Well. He's a great man," he answered simply. He paused, before going on, "He offered me a work at his company after college is over, you know."
Botan smiled. "Oohh, that's great news!" she beamed in joy once again.
"Yeah, but I'm still thinking about it."
She quirked an eyebrow his way. "What, you don't want to work with him?"
He shook his head in disagreement. "No, that's not it. It's just that I've been thinking about going overseas instead. You know, start a business there or something, but that's probably gonna be a while. My step-father's offer doesn't seem too bad though, so I'm still torn between what to choose."
A grin then tugged at the corners of his lips. "Besides, Yusuke thinks I should let loose a bit before I start working. He says I'm going to grow old quickly if all I do is study and work." A laugh began to build inside his chest, before escaping him.
Botan dismissed him with a wave. "That's ridiculous! You're a demon, you can't grow old!" she said incredulously.
Kurama laughed once again. "Yes, well, I feel old already," he joked.
She raised one eyebrow in question at him. "So what? You worried about looking like an old man?" she playfully said back, despite knowing the former thief wouldn't fret over something so silly.
"No," he responded and proceeded to flick her forehead. He laughed at the 'ow!' that escaped her, and the fake glare she shot his way.
"But, I do think I should have a little fun. You know, before I start getting busy again," he continued.
"Yeah, you're right," Botan said, noddimg her head in agreement. A thought occured in her mind. "Having a lover is pretty fun."
He arched an eyebrow quizically at her, wondering where she was going with this. "And?" he prodded.
She shrugged her shoulders. "So, don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked curiously. She really wished she hadn't though, because she had a crush on the fox for a while now.
He shook his head as in 'no' and Botan quirked one eyebrow, trying to look confused to hide her joy that the redhead was still, in fact, available.
"Don't tell me you didn't meet a cute girl in college and fell in love with her?"
He laughed at the idea, and shook his head again. "No, Botan. I didn't. To be honest, I wouldn't fall for a human girl. Plus, as far as college is concerned, I only went there to study... not find a girlfriend."
"Oh." She paused. "Sooo... who do you reckon you'd fall for?" she inquired, her voice soft and timid. She started to shuffle her feet nervously, her heart beating fast against her chest as she waited for an answer.
"Who do you think?" Kurama answered with a cryptic smile. There was something in his eyes as he said this: something Botan couldn't quite put her finger on.
"Well, I wouldn't know. If it's someone like you, you'll probably like smart, strong and beautiful women," she started to babble, and inwardly sighed in disappointment as she realized she wasn't one of those women.
"Smart, strong and beautiful?" Kurama echoed, his smile widening. "Like you, perhaps?"
Blood immediately rushed to Botan's cheeks, and she blushed red in embarrassment. "W-What, me? No, no." She frantically waved her hands in front of her face. "I'm none of those things, Kurama!"
"But, you are, Botan. You're smart when you put your mind to it. You're strong, maybe not physically but definitely mentally. And you're very beautiful. Very," he told her, and touched her face with his hand, as if to emphasize.
Botan's blush visibly deepened, flustered at the way he showered her with praise. She could hardly believe him. "Y-You're just saying that..." she mumbled, and avoided his gaze.
Kurama's expression smile felled, and placed a finger under her chin, gently forcing her to face him when she tried to look away.
"I mean it, Botan," he said, his voice soft yet firm. A smile then found its way to his face. "And I admit, I do like smart, strong and beautiful women," he added, and hoped that she would somehow get the message that he really liked her.
Botan was oblivious. "Thank you," she muttered shyly. "But, you would never like lil' old me..." she continued, in a low and almost inaudible voice, her head turned downwards.
Kurama assumed she still didn't get it, and thought of a way to convey his feelings towards her. A thought occured to him all of a sudden, and a smirk started to tug at his lips. His eyes danced with mischief, signalling the fox inside him was at play.
"Botan," he called.
At the sound of her name passing his lips, Botan lifted her head to fix her gaze on him and blinked in confusion. "Huh?"
He smiled, despite the idea coursing through his head. "I have something to tell you," he informed her.
Botan's eyebrows shot up in wonder at this, and she pondered what he had to say. "What is it?" she asked.
Before she could react, Kurama's hand slowly trailed to the back of her head, and pulled her closer towards him. "Ku-" In one swift motion, he crushed his lips against hers, silencing her.
Botan's eyes widened in surprise. But then, she soon started to kiss him back, her lips moving rhythmically against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and deepened the kiss.
She felt his tongue prodding at the entrance of her mouth, and parted her lips, moaning when the wet appendage stroke and played with hers. After a while of passionately kissing one another, Botan found herself needing to breathe.
Reluctantly, she pulled apart, breaking off the kiss. She stared in confusion into Kurama's mirthful and loving eyes, her cheeks flushed bright red.
"W-what was that?" she stuttered, after catching her breath.
"Nothing." Kurama tucked a hair behind her hear, and rubbed her cheek lovingly. He smiled when the girl nuzzled it against his palm. "Just a way to show how I feel about you."
Botan widened her eyes. "Y-you mean..."
"I really do like you, Botan," he told her, a smirk beginning to form on his lips. "And I assume you do, too? Since you did kiss me back, after all."
She blushed beet red in embarrassment, before realizing that the kiss had been a way for him to confess, and for her to admit her feelings to him through her actions. The dirty fox had been planning the whole thing!
"Kurama!"
He laughed.
Poor Botan didn't stand a chance.