The journey to the portal had been long, and if it weren't for Botan's upbringing she would have untucked her legs and laid out on her floating dais. Instead she tried to forget the pain completely. Pins and needles were not a feeling one can forget easily though.
Botan looked straight ahead and was happy to see the portal between the two worlds was actually quite close, They were almost there! 'Obviously,' Botan though to herself, 'if I had ridden here on my oar by myself, I probably could have been her by now!' Of course as reluctant as she was to admit it, it was sort of fun riding on a floating frilly red coloured dais, no matter how slow it moved.
"Approaching the portal!" the head guard Isuzu said. Botan raised herself slightly, which not only eased her pain, but also gave her a much better view. Her and the imperial guard were now moving faster and Botan could see the red sky of Demon World and the peculiar plant life. Jagged large rock formations toward over large plains. Botan took a deep breath in. She could smell Demon World, often people would say it smelled like spilt blood and rotting corpses. To her, it smelt spicy, and perhaps a little tangy. Like stepping into a human herb garden.
They approached the landing spot and Botan started to shift her weight inconspicuously. No point not being able to walk when the arrived. Demons of all shapes sizes and types formed a crowd behind the three demon lords and their Heirs. When her party finally stopped Botan began her decent, her legs a little wobbly from all that time spent kneeling. The crowd behind the six dignitaries got slowly to their knees and bowed in her direction, though most did so hesitantly. Botan bowed back dipping her body until it was almost a complete 90 degree angle. It was not done of course, but she felt it showed the demons that she felt humbled. She rose, and smiled.
Many of the demons clapped for her as the demon lords approached, followed closely by their Heirs. Botan again bowed low. There had been no particular order given to her to know which lord to acknowledge first and so she decided that a "blanket" bow would make it seem she wasn't singling any particular lord out.
"I am Botan, Princess of the spirit world. It is my hope that we may resolve the tension between are two worlds. I also hope to learn more about this world during my stay. Please guide me" she bowed once more and left her head tilted, even when she straightened her back.
"Welcome Princess. I am Lord Raizen, and this is my Heir Yusuke." Botan lifted her head, only to see a strange demon pair before her. Both had long hair, one with silver one with brown. Strange blue markings covered their face, arms and chests, the latter which was left uncovered. Botan blushed, the were both well muscled after all.
"Yo" was all the boy, Yusuke, said. He grinned and Botan found his Grin quite infectious. She smiled back.
"I am Lord Yomi. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine" Botan said turning From Yusuke and Raizen, still smiling.
"This man behind me is Youko Kurama. He is my second." Botan glanced up at the two taller men. Again, they were incredibly handsome.
"Princess an Honour to meet you" Kurama moved forward and grasped Botan's hand. He lifted it to his lips and gently kissed it. Botan blushed so much she could feel the heat on her face.
"A-an ho-nour, y-yes." She said inwardly cursing herself. She had never been kissed on the hand before. She had only read about it in old case files in spirit world. She immediately turned to the next pair and tried to contain her gasp of shock.
"I am lord Mokuro. My second, Hiei." Mokuro was covered in sacred seals and bandages, making him look just like a mummy. Botan bowed and the snapped her eyes to the man beside herself. He was only a little shorter taller than Botan herself, but was built strong, with wide shoulders and big, but not bulging biceps. He had a bandana around his forehead and a bandage up his arm. His black hair and red eyes gave him a lightly dangerous look. Apparently, both were either prone to accidents, or just really liked the look of gauze.
"Hello, nice to meet you" she said quietly to him. He looked at her and nodded. Neither one was very friendly, and Botan considered the Heir, Hiei, to be very rude (despite being incredibly good looking).
"Your majesty, it is now time for us to leave," Botan once more turned and nodded at the imperial guard, wishing them a safe journey home. Now that all the pomp and formalities were through Botan felt much more relaxed. Then, a question formed in her mind causing her to panic. Her guards were already gone though.
She turned to look at the six demons before, dreading having to ask the question. "Excuse me" she said and immediately all eyes were focused on her. "Do any of you know where I'm to stay during my trip? I was uninformed."
All the Demon lords looked at one another. "I suppose you should stay with us" Lord Mokuro said after a while. Hiei glanced up at him, his eyes widening slightly, but only briefly. "My land are between both of theirs," he gestured to the two lords beside him, "it is the most strategic place."
Botan nodded quickly to show she was happy with the decision. She would almost prefer Raizen's territory. At least they seemed more fun. She agreed though, not actually knowing where Mokuro's lands where located.
All of the demons began to leave, and Botan followed Hiei and Mokuro. They both broke in to a run, and Botan brought out her Oar and hopped on, quickly following them, although her oar was quite a bit slower. At least she never lost sight of them. For long, anyway.
Mokuro's fortress (as it could hardly be called a castle) was a black mammoth sized structure, which spread out around a well used lawn. In fact, as Botan approached, she could see no less than a thousand fully armed demons training. The effect was amazing, each combatant in perfect step with the others.
She slowed down to a halt in front of the door aware that her hosts were waiting. "You guys sure are fast!" she said jovially. She laughed a bit, but stopped abruptly when neither appeared to be laughing with her.
Hiei raised an eyebrow. "That was barely a jog." he smirked and she could tell he enjoyed insulting her. She looked up at him narrowing her eyes.
"I suppose I should have gone faster, I just wanted to remember my way. Next time I'll go faster." She really hoped there was no next time. That was the fastest her oar could go. He grinned wider and something glowed on his forehead for a second. In a few seconds it was gone. She must have imagined it.
"The girl's trunks are here my lady. Where should we put them?" Botan looked at the demon. He had three horns on his head and was rather large, but looked almost completely human, despite the red skin colour he had.
"Take them to the East wing. Hiei, show the girl to the guest room." Mokuro left them then. Hiei looked at her and that started walking away. Botan assumed now would be a good time to follow him.
Never had Botan been in a place like this before! There where large body parts tacked to the walls and ceilings , and the hall were of a circular shape, giving them a cave like feeling. Almost as if they were underground. She looked up at a grotesque set of eyes and she sincerely hoped that it was simply decoration and not old enemies up there.
Hiei stopped quite suddenly at a door and Botan, not paying attention walked right in to him. "Sorry" she mumbled. He sighed and opened the door. Botan walked in, expecting the worst. She was surprised. The room was simple and modern. A standing three way mirror and platform stood in the far right corner of the room. A vanity was near the door and the bed was beside it, but further away from Botan, The room was mostly metal with white leather and cotton accents. The room was surprisingly girly.
Botan walked over to the window, which stood directly across from the door. It overlooked the training courtyard. She walked still further and opened the door close to the mirror. Inside was a large walk in closet. Curiously, it had a few items of clothes in it already, none of which were Botan's. She then tried the door beside it, which led to the bathroom.
The bathroom was huge! A large circular world pool tub was set directly in the middle of the room. It could easily hold ten people! Two glass showers flanked the tub on either side, while a large mirror and two sinks took up the other wall. The only colour in the whole room was different shades of black.
Botan turned around and was stunned to see Hiei still there, leaning against her door frame. "I'm right next door" he said. "Try not to bother me too much okay." He walked out and Botan walked over and closed the door HE left open. Only to have to reopen it for the servants to bring in her trunks.
The servants started opening them. "Please let me do it, I don't mind!" they all looked at each other mumbled, shrugged then left all the while still mumbling. Botan went to her trunks and reopened them. She quickly hung up everything. After she finished she turned to her window and looked out. Apparently while she hade been unpacking another training session had started out in the courtyard below. All the trainees looked new, and inexperienced. She looked to where they were all facing and was unsurprised to see Hiei leading the group. He moved efficiently and quickly through them. When one soldier messed up he would quickly nail them to the ground. Botan assumed those soldiers would never make the same mistake again.
Botan continued to stare down at the courtyard below, long after the training session was over. She could not clear the image of a very sweaty Hiei from her mind.
A knock on the door woke her from her daydream and as she looked at the sky, which had darkened from it's normal colour of red to an inky black, she realized just how much time had passed. She ran to the door and threw it open, startling the servant on the other side. "Hi! Is something wrong?"
"No my lady! Lord Mokuro humbly requests your presence at dinner tonight" the servant girl said. She looked Completely human, with brown coloured eyes and hair.
"Oh is that all, say could you help me get ready? What time does dinner start?" she opened the door further and urged the young girl in.
"I would be honoured to help you! Dinner starts at 7:00."
The girl lead Botan over to the vanity. Botan looked at her reflection and cringed. The elaborate hairdo she had worn was awful! "Is there time to redo my hair? Isn't this just horrible!" she said looking at the girl behind her and making a face. The demon girl smiled at the horrified look on the princess's face. Carefully she took out all the pins and began slowly brushing it out. Having it so tightly pinned had left a slight curl to it. Both girls decided they liked it and left it that way.
After doing her hair and changing her clothes (Botan would die without trying on some of the clothes that had been in the closet) she was ready. Botan wore a simple red dress, with white ankle boots and a few gold bangles on her wrist.
On the way down Botan asked the servant girl something important. "Hey, what is your name" The girls both laughed at her awkwardness.
"My name is Keiko."
A/N: oooh Keiko is here? Well I know it is moving slowly right now, but I needed to get introductions done, and I felt it was important to set the scene a little bit. The next chapter will definitely focus more on Botan's work in Demon world plus maybe a few cute moments. Perhaps a love triangle has started now! Well, actually it would be more of a love square as it would be Koenma/Botan (one-sided) Hiei/Botan and ?/Botan looking forward to your reviews! See you next time!