Ballerina Botan
Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or any of its characters being that they all belong to Yoshihiro Togashi.
Chapter 4: Chaos
March, 1994
In the weeks following, Botan was still determined to hear Koenma sing. Without his knowledge, she would follow him to his voice lessons and secretly listened to her young boss's sweet and wonderful vocal melodies. Botan, like all of the other Spirit World inhabitants, loved to hear Koenma's songs but, they weren't lucky enough to ever get the chance to hear him. Most of the time, they got caught and were severely punished for it.
Not Botan, though, there had been a few close calls. Thankfully she was able to cover them up by making it look like she was preoccupied with something else. Koenma had his suspicions but, he chose to not do anything about it being that, at the time, he still had his little crush on her.
Back in present day and now that the Dark Tournament had finally come and gone, that was all to change. Once Botan had returned back to Spirit World after Genkai's revival, she was walking to her boss's office to thank him for fulfilling Team Urameshi's wish. Even if Toguro didn't kill the Tournament Committee, it wasn't like they were going to do it anyway.
Now standing outside of Koenma's office, Botan felt the warm and happy feeling of the prince's magical voice properties, hearing him sing again. Wondering what he was singing about while working on his paperwork, she cracked open one of the doors and heard the lyrics to his song:
Beautiful brown eyed angel how you made my heart soar
I really want to see you some more
I feel like I can truly connect with you
Beautiful brown eyed angel...
He then stopped feeling some familiar and welcoming energy at the entrance to his office. Knowing it who it was, the currently toddler looking prince blushed a deep red. Taking a deep breath, he finally plucked up the courage and spoke, practically raising his voice, "Botan!"
Damn, busted. The lovely blue haired grim reaper was caught and it was better to be honest about her peeping than lie and be punished for it. Botan stepped into the office and politely bowed to Koenma, "I apologize, Koenma sir. It's just, I couldn't help but admire your song...it...it was beautiful."
Standing upright, she could see that he was still blushing like mad. Like everyone else who worked for him, Botan couldn't help but notice her boss's strange behavior since they came back home from Hanging Neck Island. She figured he must have met someone because he didn't seem to act like a total goofball around her anymore.
Breaking the awkward silence between them, Koenma sucked on his pacifier and asked in a shaky voice, "Y...you h...heard that?"
Botan nodded, "I did. "Beautiful Brown Eyed Angel"? I know you mustn't be talking about me. My eyes are pink. Sir, I hope you don't mind of I ask this but, did you meet another girl on the island?"
He blushed a deeper shade of red and looked down at the current document he was working on. Koenma's cute chubby cheeks were now as red as a tomato. He was having a difficult time trying to cover this up, "W...what m...makes you say that?"
Deciding to come out and say it, she replied, "Well, first of all, you don't seem like you have much of an interest in me anymore. You haven't tried to sneak into the dance room once to watch me dance since the tournament ended, nor do you try to act all "cool" around me anymore. There's a new girl you like, isn't there? You can't hide it, Koenma. It's written all over your face."
He bit down on the Mafukan. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his mouth shut about this. Not thinking about what he was going to say next, the words started to pour out him, "Yes, I did and she's amazing. She's this really sweet human woman with the most beautiful name, Jasmine..."
Listening to Koenma prattle on and on about this Jasmine girl, Botan had never seen him act like this. She obviously made such a good impression on him. Finally able to get another word in edgewise, she laughed, "She sounds like an extraordinary girl, Koenma. I would love to meet her. I hope I do, I wouldn't mind making another friend."
Still blushing, Koenma chewed on his pacifier for just a little bit, looked down at the current unprocessed document he was working on, "I don't know if that will be possible, Botan." He sighed, "I may not get to see her again."
Not wanting to continue talking about this particular subject, he took a deep breath and said, "You're dismissed."
Even though she wanted to know more about this girl, Botan decided give Koenma his space. She politely bowed to him and left the office. The next couple of days, Koenma kept daydreaming, singing about or talking about his latest crush. Even though Botan kept up with her dancing and her work of ferry souls to their final resting places, she kept an eye on her young boss.
She knew if King Yama were to find out that his only son, his only heir was crushing or possibly falling for a human woman, he would never hear the end of it or possibly be punished for it. The lovely blue haired woman continued to ponder the subject as she changed out of her pink kimono and into her dance rehearsal attire.
Leaving the locker room, her thoughts were soon interrupted by the booming voice of the king, "Another one? Another one?! What the hell am I going to do with you?! You are a disgrace! Your mother sure as hell wouldn't approve! Falling for a human woman! FOR THE THIRD TIME!"
Botan just stood there stunned and listened through the doors to the king's throne room as she heard Koenma speak in a meek tone through them, trying to defend himself, "Father...I...I...o...only just s...spoken to her twice. I doubt that I will see her again..."
He wound up trailing off as King Yama interjected, "See to you won't. If you do, you will be punished. Severely. Now, forget about that human tramp and get back to work. That backlog isn't going to stamp itself. You're dismissed."
The conversation ended abruptly and Botan backed away from the door. She pretended to be just passing by as Koenma walked out of the ice cold room. His cute chubby face looking pale and his small body still shook in fright but, he was thankful that he evaded spankings or any other cruel punishment. Thinking about those, made the prince shiver.
Feeling another presence, his large brown eyes darted over to Botan. He sighed, "You heard that?"
The lovely grim reaper stopped walking. Deciding to be honest with him, she nodded, "Yes."
Koenma looked down at the floor and Botan said with genuine sympathy for him, "Sir, you don't have to take that. Nobody can help who they fall in love with."
Tearing his eyes off the floor, Koenma bit down on the Mafukan and took a deep breath before responding, "I...I know, Botan. I mean...what's to say that I am in love? This is just probably just an infatuation that'll eventually go away. Like I said, I...I probably won't see her again. She's a mere human with a life of her own and I'm just the Prince of the Spirit World..."
He paused biting down on his pacifier again. Botan just intently watched her boss's behavior. Koenma clenched his small hands into fists at his sides and single tear slid down his chubby cheek as he drew in a deep breath.
Seeing that, Botan knew she needed to do something to take his mind off of this. Getting a bright idea, she offered, "Sir, please don't think about that. I know how this is upsetting you. Come with me to the dance room."
Wiping the tear away with the sleeve of his shirt, Koenma formed the best cheerful smile he could muster despite still feeling down in the dumps, "Sure but Botan?"
"Yes sir?"
He couldn't believe he was saying this but, "May I sing while you dance? It's only fair since I have watched you without your consent and you heard me without mine."
Botan giggled and nodded, "Sure."
While they walked together to the dance room, Koenma said, "Now promise me this doesn't get out. I don't want...I'm...I'm still not ready for everyone else to hear sing again. Do you understand?"
"Yes Koenma. Your secret is safe with me." She winked promising to keep her word.
~To Be Continued
