Okay. Here it is. I wrote this when my internet got busted and was unable to post it up, but now that my PC is working again, I decided to seize the oppurtunity straight away. If you checked the Hiei/Botan section of fanfiction, you'd realize that I had recently posted in a short, simple one-shot as well. Please read it. It needs as much recognition as you can possibly give.

Anyways, that's about it. I really don't wish to dilly-dally any longer.

READ AND REVIEW!


This chapter is dedicated to everyone nice enough to have left, or who will leave a review. Thank you so much. You make me feel like I can do something right for a change.


Mr Maybe

Chapter Four

'Miss Botan, Lord Koenma would like to see you in his office right away,' informed Koenma's bumbling assistant, a blue-coloured ogre named George. 'He says its urgent.'

Botan sighed. It had only been four days since Kuwabara's wedding ceremony, and all ready she was up to her head in paper work. Her boss, Koenma, was of course, only making her job tougher, as, everytime she thought she was almost finished, he'd call her to his office and dump another pile of papers into her reluctant fingers.

'Oh... all right. I'm coming,' replied Botan dejectedly as she heaved her backside off the chair with as much will-power as she could possibly afford.

Feeling heavy and sore, the fair deity made her way to her boss' office. She paid no heed to the welcoming gestures and compliments headed her way by her other co-workers. Even her bright smile had managed to peel itself off her lips under the enormous stress. For the first time in centuries, poor Botan had lost the power of pure optimism, and was shocked to find herself cursing under her breath just as she reached the grand mohagony doors of Koenma's office.

The ferry girl didn't bother to knock, as she knew Koenma had been expecting her, and instead slipped in through the doors soundly.

'You rang, Koenma-sama?' inquired Botan with a sigh barely contained by her pursed lips.

'Ahh... yes, Botan!' exclaimed Koenma grandly, with an enthusiastic wave of a hand. 'Please, please, take a seat!'

Botan's eyebrows rose with sceptism; wondering what on earth her boss had planned. She had never been offered a seat in his presence before – so why the sudden change? Fearing the worst, the distressed ferry onna suddenly went into a frenzy of gushed explainations. 'Koenma-sama, if this is about the unscheduled break, I can really explain! You see, I was really thirsty, so I asked Sizuka who asked Ayumi who asked Rika and they said that I could have a short break if I...'

Once again, Koenma dismissed her senseless rambling with a nonchalant gesture of a chubby hand. 'No, no, Botan,' he explained. 'There's absolutely nothing to worry about. In fact, if anything, you should be jumping for joy right about now.'

'Joy... Sir?' repeated Botan, unsurely.

'Botan,' said Koenma. 'I've reviewed your work these past few months and have come to truly appreciate what you do here for the Spirit World. I've talked about it with Dad and he thinks you're just as ready.'

'Umm... ready, sir?'

Koenma cleared his throat importantly, and rested his clasped hands over the surface of his newly polished desk. 'Botan, what I'm trying to say is...' he started. 'You're getting a promotion!'

Botan's pink eyes sprang to life, reflecting her inner happiness. She leapt to her feet with joy and hopped up and down like a caffeined-crazed bunny. 'Koenma-sama, is this all true?' she cried, hoping her ears hadn't decieved her. If she truly had been promoted, than that would mean she would be granted the position of 'Angel' to the Heavens.

Koenma nodded, and was suddenly taken by surprise as he felt himself being lifted out of his seat and brought into the embrace of his greatest ferry girl.

Botan squealed delightedly. 'Oh, Koenma-sama! Thank you, thank you!' she gushed, squeezing the wind out of her beloved boss. 'You have no idea how long I've yearned to catch a glimpse of Heaven! Its like a dream come true!'

Botan, with the toddler-version of Koenma in her arms, spun in circles happily as she sighed dreamily and her eyes glazed over.

'Yes, well, you do know that by taking the role of Angel, you'd be cast there forever, don't you?' piped Koenma.

'Huh?' asked Botan, his question momentarily catching her by surprise.

Koenma fixed his hat promptly before going on; 'By taking the role of Angel, you'll be forced to stay in Heaven forever, never to see the lights of Ningenkai or Rekai again, where you'll be handling the free souls of the many people homed up there.'

Koenma almost fell to the floor, if he hadn't gripped onto the arms of his ferry assistant tightly.

'Never...?' she repeated, slightly dazed.

Koenma nodded, and leaped out of her arms. 'Yup!' he replied. 'But don't worry – there will be a whole month off before you start off your job, so you can use that time to think about it. In the meantime, I have one small, teeny-tiny little job to ask of you before your vacation starts...'

'Umm... all... right...?' replied Botan, albeit reluctantly. Koenma's idea of "teeny-tiny" would probably turn out to be something deep and drastic.

Koenma reached under his desk and came out with something shiny and metalic. 'Give this to Yusuke. Tell him to bring the others along with him – he'll know what to do.'

Botan stooped low in to a graceful bow, her right hand sweeping the air behind her and materialising her oar.

'Oh, and, Botan!' called out Koenma, just as she was about to take off into the sky. 'Don't worry too much about the job. I suggest you use your vacation period to say your good-byes to your friends in the Human World before you leave.'


'WHAT!' yelled Yusuke Urameshi, startling his 3-month-old daughter out of slumber and into a series of tears and screams due to the outburst. 'They can't be serious!'

'Yusuke, what happened?' asked Keiko, appearing from the kitchen and over to her baby's side just seconds after the baby started crying. 'Oh, now look what you've done! It took me ages to put her to sleep!'

Botan played with her fingers nervously, not expecting such a simple message to get the ex-Spirit Detective all worked up.

'Pacifier-breath thinks he can drag me out of my personal life and into his stinkin' business just because I used to work for him!' he yelled over the distressed cries of his daughter. 'Well tell him to go shove his stinkin' baby butt elsewhere and find himself a new Spirit Detective!'

Yusuke thrust the metal disk Koenma had given him back into Botan's hands.

'Yusuke!!' a hologram-version of the toddler Koenma appeared from the tiny hole located in the very middle of the disk yelled back. 'I demand you get your butt back here – as Prince and Second in Command of Rekai...'

'Blah, blah, blah!' shouted Yusuke, over-throwing the noise made by both Koenma and his crying child. 'I don't give a damn who you think you are! Its over – I'm not under your charge anymore! Can't you find another Detective to do your dirty work for you?'

Koenma's chubby cheeks turned deep red, even through the hologram. 'I would, but you're the best guy for the job!' he replied. 'No one we have has as much experience in this field!'

'What about your Spirit Force?' Yusuke snapped, testily.

'Not good enough!' answered the Prince of Hell. 'You and the rest of the Tantei are the only one's who can fix this. It won't take long if you get started right away.'

'What about this, huh?' snapped Yusuke, gesturing an outstretched arm towards his busy wife and weeping child. 'I have a family and a responsibility to it now, ya' big fat baby! I can't just leave them! If those demons are after power as you said, whats to say they won't attack my family and lure me with the bait? Who's gonna take care of them, huh?' he demanded.

'Simple,' replied Koenma, the colour fading from his cheeks. 'I'll have my people keep a force-field to protect them here in the Human World. And I'll leave Botan with them, too.'

'WHAT!' cried both Botan and Yusuke at once, causing the baby to go into a greater frenzy of tears.

'But, sir, what about my vacation?' exclaimed Botan, the same time Yusuke cried out, 'How can that help?'

Koenma cleared his throat, as though to settle all the argument. 'Botan's been promoted to Angel now, and I think this would be the perfect oppurtunity for her to test out and master her skills, so I'm sure she'll be more than capable to fend off any meddling demons that come close to your family,' he said, as a reply to Yusuke's question. 'And Botan, as for you, you did say you wanted to use this time for your friends? Well, what better way than to stay here with Keiko and the others and get well acquainted before you start?'

Yusuke opened his mouth to detest, but before he could even spit the words out of his mouth, Koenma said; 'Don't worry. It won't be long. You'll just be gone during the day. You can come home to your family everynight if you want', and was gone.

Yusuke whisked the disk to the floor, watching with twisted satisfaction as it shattered into a million pieces. 'Fine,' he muttered, angry that he had lost the war of words between Koenma and himself. He thrust his hands into his pockets and made for the door. 'I'll go get the others, then.'

'When will you be back?' asked Keiko as she cradled the crying baby in her arms.

Yusuke shrugged, and turned to his wife. 'In a bit, I guess,' he replied. 'Kurama and the others will probably be here to drop Shizuru and Yukina with you for safety.'

With that, the ex-Detective walked out the door, fuming about how, 'this had better be the last time' he go on a mission.


The ex-Tantei, Botan, and the girls were engaging in small talk as the waited for the prince of Rekai's arrival at a secluded section of the othewise boistrous, human-filled park.

Hiei sat against the trunk of his favourite tree, watching the others squirm uncomfortably from their positions on the ground beneath the bangs of his onyx hair. His crimson orbs lifted to the pale blue sky, and he secretly counted to ten – if the toddler didn't make it by his count, he'd be off.

Suddenly, a small eruption ceased all previous lingering small-talk. There, where a puff of hot, white smoke had popped out from the ground, stood Koenma, Prince of the Spirit World. Standing alongside him was a stranger that Hiei was unfamiliar to.

'Botan!' the stranger suddenly exclaimed, capturing her hand and brushing it with a chaste' kiss. 'Must we always meet during such dire circumstances? It is only through the mercy of Enma that I would have the oppurtunity to treat such a wonderful deity such as yourself with the pleasures in which you deserve. Perhaps some other time, I'm afraid, but that time is not the present.'

Hiei rolled his eyes upwards, no longer wishing to waste his time with such trivial matters. All he wanted was to get the mission over with so he could return to his nap.

The Prince of Rekai snapped his fingers, immediately halting the course of such small, unwanted matters. Clearing his throat, the prince said, 'As you all know, I have called upon you for a final, most pressing mission as the Rekai Tantei.'

'EX!' cried Yusuke, placing emphasis on the word.

Koenma gave him a stern look, but repeated his sentence nonetheless, 'EX-Tantei,' he corrected, with an obvious sign of authority. 'This here is an old friend of mine. He is one of our main benefactors from the Demon World, a direct-decendent of an old, prestigious family of demons.'

Hiei controlled the urge to growl deeply. 'A demon with contacts to the Spirit World is nothing but a traitor to his own blood,' he thought, lips twisting in disgust as he focused his eyes on the gleam of his katana blade in attempt to look uncaring.

'You may call me Kakeshi,' the blonde stranger said, stepping up into the light for the first time.

Hiei studied the demon intently; realizing, for the first time, the aura of demonic essence that seemed to pulse around his very being. In his human form, he looked like nothing more than an arrogant pretty-boy, but Hiei could tell by the strong scent he was giving out, that this Kakeshi was not one to mess with.

Hiei grunted and quickly averted his eyes before the stranger caught him staring. 'Upper B class,' he mused. 'Or lower A, to say the least.'

The brooding koorime hated the fact that this Kakeshi guy was in his league. While the Detective, Yusuke, could easily surpass them both with his strong Spirit Shot-Gun and raging demon blood, he could say little for himself.

Looking down again, Hiei realized that the said Kakeshi was currently sweet-talking a red-faced ferry onna. She looked torn and unsure as her pink eyes darted from the giggling Keiko, to the mocking Shizuru, to the encouraging Yukina, and to the charming Kakeshi once more.

Hiei found himself caught with the bristling need to unsheath his katana – but held himself as he, for the first time in his life, was relieved to hear them being interrupted by a testy Koenma.

'Kakeshi has recently filed a report to Rekai a few days ago concerning a most worrying theft,' he explained. 'And its not just any theft. This one doesn't concern any jewels or gold or any material items whatsoever. According to the report and our own research, there is a group of powerful demons out their with the ability to seep the powers and life-forces of other spiritual or demonic beings.'

'What? Like a leech?' the oaf, Kuwabara, stated bluntly. 'Well, how are we gonna stop him if he's gonna steal all our power?'

Koenma grinned. 'And that, my friends,' he said. 'Is why I chose you to figure out this case.'

'Leave it to the brat to dump all his problems into everyone elses' lives,' thought Hiei gruffly.

Yusuke snorted. 'Fine,' he said, rather reluctantly. 'But my power still isn't enough. How d'you expect me to do anything about that?'

'I'll fix that in a moment... so if you'd just step into the portal...' said Koenma, making a few hand gestures and causing a bright, swirling light to pop up out of thin air. 'In the meantime, Botan will be in charge of taking care of the girls.'

Hiei's heart (if it was possible he even had any), suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Had he heard correctly? Had the toddler just said that the baka onna would be in charge of Yukina?

Hiei's wide eyes ran frantically to and fro, hoping someone else had caught on to the news and tried to correct him; nothing happened. Kurama, standing against the bark of his tree, looked calm and relaxed as he rubbed his thumb and forefinger with his lover, Shizuru's, own. Yusuke merely looked a bit peeved, but was otherwise undisturbed, and by the blunt look on Kuwabara's face, it was rather obvious that the oaf hadden't computed a single word said.

Finally, Hiei's desperate eyes settled on the ferry onna. Hiei was slightly satisfied that she, at least, had the oppacity to look worried. What unsettled him, however, was the fact that she was in charge of his sister – the one he had tried so hard to keep safe. Hiei doubted the onna even had the basic training to defend herself if the chance slipped.

Hiei wanted to voice his thoughts, but was halted before he could do anything more.

As everyone else took their time to slip in through the portal, Hiei seized the oppurtunity and quickly flitted over to the ferry woman standing unsurely below his tree.

Botan "Eeep'd" when she realized his sudden appearance in her face, and cautiously backed away as he got too close. 'Hiei?' she voiced, uncertainly.

'Baka ferry onna,' snapped Hiei, toneless and impolite as usual. 'What can you do against an attack?'

Botan played with a lock of stray hair – twisting it between her fingers nervously as she eyed the fire demon standing before her. 'Well, I've been promoted to Angel and...'

She could say nothing more as she was suddenly loudly interrupted by Koenma's calls for Hiei to "get his butt into the damn portal".

'Just make sure nothing harms Yukina, get it?' he spat. 'If anything happens to her...' Hiei unsheathed his beloved weapon of choice and pressed its blade threateningly, just inches away from Botan's neck. 'You're dead, onna.'

And with that, the short, dark koorime turned his back on her and strolled lazily into the portal. He vanished like the silent, brooding shadow he was; his deep, threatening voice still ringing in Botan's ear as she found herself suddenly unable to move.


I know what you all are thinking, 'Where's the stinking romance?? Didn't the summary say this will be humor? Where are the various men, damnit!'

Yeah, well, I'm so sorry. I really, REALLY wanted to add more of that into this chapter, but I realized it was far too long and had to end it like this. Sorry!

The good news, however, is that its finally getting to the plot (yes, I do have a plot, thank you very much!).

Anyways, so sorry once again. I promise you that the next chapter will involve the first 'man' hand-chosen by our beloved Keiko. Tee-hee! I, personally, can't wait to start on it.

You just promise to keep the reviews coming. I'll do my side of the bargain. Deal?

REVIEW!!