Kuwabara: Hey! This isn't you're normal story!
FW: (sarcastic) Very good Kuwabara! Now, what number comes after "D"?
Hiei: "D" is a letter, Moron.
FW: So it is…. Well as Kuwabara pointed out, this isn't "The Trials of a Marching Band", but don't worry! I'm still writing that too! I just REALLY needed to write this, even though it is, (GAG) romance.
Yusuke: I thought you hated that stuff.
FW: I DO! Usually, but like I said, I really need to write this. Further info is unnecessary.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho
START
"Botan, I need you to join Yusuke and the others on their mission this time," Koenma stated to his number one employee.
She blinked at her boss, tilting her head in confusion. "I don't understand. I'm not a fighter, so I don't see how I could help them all the way in the Makai."
Koenma shook his head, "You're underestimating yourself. I'm sending you BECAUSE they're going to the Makai. If anything goes wrong, they'll need your healing powers. Only Genkai and Yukina can match you in that area, but as you can guess, sending one of them would cause problems."
She nodded, seeing his logic. If Yukina were sent, Kuwabara would be distracted, and Hiei would be even more murderous than usual. If Genkai went, she and Yusuke would be at each others' throats the whole time. Which left her.
She saluted, "I'll do my best!" before hurrying out of his office, leaving Koenma to think over what he'd done, and what problems he'd caused. You see, Botan, though Yusuke HAD a girlfriend in Keiko, was fully in love (FW: EVIL WORD) with their favorite detective. And of course, Yusuke had no idea, yet.
"Poor Yusuke, he doesn't know what he's in for."
By nightfall, the four usual detectives, now with the addition of Botan, had gathered necessities and were successfully in the demon plain.
"It's too dark to see very well," Kurama said, glancing about. "Or at least, too dark for MOST people to see very well," the correction was made, knowing his own senses were much above human, and Hiei's jagan would be useful in night vision.
"Then we'd better set up camp," Botan took the conversation from there, setting down her backpack and taking the tent boxes from Kuwabara.
"Have fun with that," Yusuke yawned, putting his arms behind his head and turning to the other direction, preparing to walk off.
Botan quickly used a tent box to trip him. "Going somewhere?" The female asked, towering over his grounded form.
"Uh, just checking the area,…" he said sheepishly, covering up.
"Good idea. Hiei, scan the area, would you?" She asked, turning to the shortest.
Hiei hn'ed but did as she said, completing the task quickly with his jagan. Then he nodded, letting the others know the dead was done, and the area safe.
Botan set to work starting a fire to cook hot dogs on, while the boys tried to put together the tents.
"It says here, "slot A into slot B"…" Kurama read off the instructions, looking for whatever the slots were supposed to be.
"There can't be two slots!" Kuwabara exclaimed, grabbing the paper, and reading the same thing. Kurama just shrugged.
"Well that's not getting us anywhere," Yusuke decided, picking up two random poles and sticking them together. "That's all we need to do."
Abandoning the directions completely, they all set off piecing things together, however they thought it should be. After a few minutes, amazingly enough, the tent started to take form! And after a few more, they had built it. It was a little lopsided, but still shelter.
"Now we just need someone to test it out…" Kurama trailed off, looking at the ever-silent Hiei.
"No," the other demon stated, not even bothering to glance at him.
"Why do we need someone to test it out?" Yusuke asked, at a loss.
"In case it falls! Duh!" Kuwabara said, praying off his friend's stupidity.
"Oh, I understand," Kurama said slowly, a plan formulating. "Of course, Hiei, I won't make you…."
"Good."
"-if you're claustrophobic."
Now Hiei looked at the fox. "…What the he#l does that mean?"
Kurama turned to the side, keeping his eyes locked with the other. "You're afraid of small spaces. I should have guessed, really. The way you always avoid houses, stay in trees…"
"I only do that because I hate people!" Hiei yelled, annoyed. No WAY was he afraid of small spaces, he wasn't afraid of ANYTHING. Just to prove a grinning redhead wrong, he fell for it and stalked inside the green tent.
Botan abandoned her work to watch with the others. "Looks like it's ok," Yusuke said.
Just then, the tent collapsed on itself, and a cursing fire demon. "Or not."
Botan giggled, returning to the still unlit fire. "I bet they'll never set it up."
½ and hour later….
"I can't believe they've set it up…" Botan groaned, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara celebrate, Kurama smile, and Hiei even looking a little satisfied. Not only had they managed to figure out the first tent, but the second as well! Botan, meanwhile, still hadn't gotten the hang of the fire.
Yusuke, noticing there wasn't the smell of freshly made hot dogs, amd walked over to her. Leaving the other three to their devices, and him and Botan alone.
"Man, Botan, you're really bad at this…" he shook his head, noting all the useless matches on the ground. "Let me try."
"There's no more," she said, handing him the empty box. She lifted her hands, each one holding a stick with the bark rubbed off in the centers. "Why else would I be rubbing sticks together?"
"Because you're weird."
Botan swatted at him lightly, laughing a little as she did so.
He laughed too, and gently took her hands in his own. "You're doing it wrong," he explained, rubbing them together with her.
It was a good thing he was so concentrated on those sticks, as her face was bright red, but eventually, it faded back to the normal color. Slowly, she let herself relax, happy with such a simple gesture.
Right when she was getting used to his hands, flames leaped forth from the wood. "See?" Yusuke asked, proud of himself, and letting go of her.
He grabbed himself a hot dog out of the bag, stabbing a twig through it.
Botan didn't move, just remembered how it felt with his hands on top of hers. And how they felt without him.
Keiko had it good.
And Yusuke just sat there, whistling as his hot dog caught fire, oblivious to her pain.
Kurama and Hiei had been watching, while Kuwabara had just continued to be all around thrilled with himself.
"It's too bad, isn't it," the fox murmured to his friend. "And the worst part is that Yusuke constantly breaks her heart without noticing.
"Hn," Hiei said, trying to sound as though he didn't care. But as much as he denied it, he had gotten used to Botan's bubbly, and often annoying personality. Maybe he even cared for her, just a little. (FW: As a FRIEND, mind you)
"But there's really nothing we can do, is there?" Kurama continued, still looking at the two from a distance.
"We can always kill Keiko."
"Hiei!" Kurama yelled accidentally gaining the attention of their teammates.
For the first time, Kuwabara looked over in the duo's general direction, and noticed Yusuke's still smoking hot dog over Hiei's shoulder.
"Why didn't anyone tell me there was food!"
Late at night, Botan lay alone in her private tent. Refusing to be in the same as the boys, she had claimed this one for herself. Naturally, all the boys, except for the gentleman Kurama, had protested, so she had to "mark" her territory.
Though she was used to the smell and it didn't bother her, she had to admit using a whole bottle of perfume on the entry DID kind of stink.
Silently, she got up, and exited her tent, sure no one would dare enter when they couldn't breathe the toxic air. The ferry girl walked to the edge of their "campsite", which happened to be a cliff, overlooking more endless forests. Leaning against a tree, she could look up at the sky, and see thousands of tiny stars wink down at her.
"Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. I wish-"
"What are you doing up so late?"
Botan jumped, startled at Yusuke's voice by her side. "Oh, nothing," she lied quickly. Inside her head, she thought, "I didn't even wish for him to come yet!"
Yusuke looked up at the dark sky with her, both silent for a while. "What were you gonna wish for?" He asked at last.
"I can't tell you! It won't come true!" She said, defensively.
"Ok, ok! Sorry," Yusuke said, putting his hands up. "I was just wondering."
The two continued to stare quietly for a time, enjoying the scenery, and each other's presence.
At least half an hour later, Yusuke yawned. "I'll see you in the morning," he said, getting up.
"Don't go…" Botan thought, but couldn't bring herself to say it. Instead, she watched him leave, the simple gesture bringing tears to her eyes.
She looked back up at the star she'd noticed first. "I never did make my wish…" she remembered. Gazing at it intently, she silently made it.
Meanwhile, Yusuke returned to the tent, where Kuwabara was snoring loudly. Hiei had been chanting, "I'll kill her, I'll kill her,"during the time Yusuke had left, angry at Botan for having taken the other tent and making him try to sleep within three inches of "the oaf".
"What were you doing?" Kurama asked, ignoring the small demon's endless voice. Strange, normally they could barely get him to talk, now they couldn't get him to shut up.
"Just looking at the stars with Botan," he answered truthfully, laying on his sleeping bag.
"Is that so…" the fox muttered, looking out the mesh window, to where Botan had yet to move, though with his keen vision, Kurama was sure he could see silent tears on her face.
"Amazing how such a simple gesture can break a heart," he mused silently, "I only hope that one can also repair it."
END
FW: I'm not really much of a Yusuke/Botan fan-
Yusuke: Then why write it! Keiko's gonna be mad….
FW: Because I can! Also, because I have too… again, no more info needed.
Keiko: Yusuke…
Yusuke: (gulp) I'm outa here! (runs away)
Botan: Poor Keiko….
FW: This is probably a one-shot, unless I get depressed again. And Sola, don't you DARE call me when you read this. If you want to review, cool, if not, cool. If you wanna flame, go ahead. I'll take it in stride!