Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Summary: Best friends separated for seven years are finally reunited to have a grand wedding due to earlier arrangements made by both families. Not bad, right? Especially if the groom to be is a young, handsome redheaded actor who everyone adores, right? WRONG! Now, if only he can get his fiancé to fall for him… Completely AU, featuring the KB pairing.

Couples: Mainly revolving around the red blue couple, Kurama/Botan, but also includes the 'supporting' pairing Kuronue/Shizuru, a bit of Yusuke/Keiko, and mentionings of Kuwabara/Yukina

Chapter 10

"So, B, how was your date?"

Botan looked up from the magazine she was reading to find Shizuru gazing questioningly at her. Yukina and Keiko vainly attempted to arrange a few boxes (as to what the contents were, Botan didn't know and quite frankly, didn't care), pretending to be focused on their job as they casted a sneaky glance at her, curious as well. It was a slow day, for some reason, and the girls found themselves having some time to freely converse without having to deal with angry customers like last time.

Suddenly, the memory of Kurama hugging her and apologizing to her flashed in her mind, causing her face to heat up. "Oh, um, okay…" she murmured softly, trying to hide her blush by covering her features with the magazine.

Unfortunately, the other three noticed. Shizuru's mouth slowly formed a sly grin, and Keiko held back a giggle as Yukina openly smiled.

"Oh-ho? And what happened?" Shizuru asked, her voice teasing as she leaned in closer to the blue haired girl, wrapping one arm around her shoulders.

"Um…" Botan tried to speak, but failed. Under her friends' unwavering gazes and mischievous vibes, she could only blush darker and sputter with her words. "U-uh, nothing m-much…"

"Really?" Keiko's voice chimed in, sounding a little too friendly for Botan's taste. She leaned in closer as well, giving the latter a cheeky grin. "Then, why is your face so red? Something must have happened, right?"

"Yes, that's right," Yukina blurted out, and Botan couldn't help but inwardly cry to herself. Argh, Yukina was the last person she wanted to tease her about this! "Mind telling us the details, Botan-chan?" she probed, her lips curling into that gentle but scary smile that meant she was up to something.

Yeah, well, except for the fact I found out about Kurama's deal with Kazuya-san and that he hugged me in public, and we got chased by crazy fangirls, and I felled asleep with my head on his shoulder, and woke up to see him wrapping his strong—okay, stop—anyway, wrapping an arm around my waist, nothing much really happened, alright, Botan rambled in her mind, but she was well aware that she couldn't very much tell her friends about it. Who knows how many questions they would bombard her with? And although she would usually tell them everything, this story was too embarrassing to tell.

"N-no, nothing happened, really!" she stammered, further burying her face into the magazine. Argh! Why was she acting like this? Now they would be more suspicious!

As if on cue, Shizuru, Yukina and Keiko looked at her weirdly, as if wondering what she was hiding. Really, she must have seemed as if she was a simpering school girl with the dark crimson blush coloring her cheeks. Her face felt so hot she thought it would explode with all the blood rushing through her head. Fortunately, Koenma came in time before the other girls could ask her anymore questions.

"Hey, have you guys watched the TV?" The brown-haired manager, Koenma Daioh, stepped towards the girls with a hand rubbing a handkerchief on his sweaty countenance. It seemed as if he had been doing some rough jobs, but the girls didn't bother to ask.

"Nope, is something interesting in the news or something, Ko-chan?" Shizuru answered casually.

Among the four, she and Botan knew Koenma the longest, but Shizuru had been a friend of his since they were as young as infants due to their families being best friends with one another, so she was the only one who dared to speak to him like that – although, Botan also suspected it had something to do with her brash and unabashed attitude.

Koenma shot her a menacing death glare, hoping to see the woman cower in fear, only to grumble something under his breath as she merely grinned at him in return. Throwing the handkerchief on the counter, Koenma finally responded, "Yeah, there's something, alright," his tone agitated, but Botan could have sworn he casted her a brief glance.

She blinked, wondering what the odd look was about.

Her question was answered a moment later, as Koenma grabbed the TV remote from the counter, and pressing a button, switched the machinery on. He skipped a few boring, uninteresting channels, before stopping at one.

"Fans worldwide are going berserk after rumors of the famous Shuichi Minamino, or better known as his stage name Kurama, the best and hottest young actor of the year, having a fiancé spread throughout the whole country—"

Botan quickly snatched the remote, her movements similar to that of a lightning bolt. A bright rosy blush crept up her cheeks, and she stumbled over the buttons, attempting to change the channel, whilst trying to ignore the amused smirk lifting up her friends' lips. But, the only thing she got was:

"Kurama—"

"Shuichi "Kurama" Minamino's engagement—"

The girl threw the remote to the floor out of pure frustration, her blush deepening in both embarrassment and wrath as she indignantly roared, "Why the hell is there only news about him?! Is the whole world obsessed with him or something?"

Shizuru calmly reached for the remote, bending down to pick it up and proceeded to ignore Koenma who was yelling out some incoherent sentences about his precious remote.

"Seems so," she replied in a nonchalant manner, and shrugged off her shoulders, as she pressed a few more buttons. More news about the red-haired actor echoed in the store, Botan growing more and more exasperated with each passing second and each channel that was speaking of Kurama. Really, did this people have nothing better to do than to report about a person's love life?! Actor or not, hot or not, this amount of people throwing a big fuss over her fiancé was abnormal. Was he even human to attract all this attention?

All of a sudden, Shizuru halted at one channel, and the others listened with interest – even Koenma who stopped throwing his tantrum to hear more. Botan, on the other hand, was trying very hard to block out the sounds coming from the television.

"We have recently done an interview with Kurama-san's step-father, Kazuya Hatanaka, about the rumors. The owner of the infamous and successful toy company, Hatanaka Holdings, had testified that they are true. Does this mean what we all think it means? Is this it for the dreaming fan girls? Is the young actor, Kurama-san, finally fully out of reach? Fan girls – and fan boys – worldwide are in a state of utter chaos; some are fleeing to temples to pray that this isn't the case, some have entered a mature resignation and has begun to accept that Kurama-san is no longer available, while others continue to cry, wail and wallow in self-pity and despair as they refuse to accept the blatant truth and face reality. However, no one can deny what is truly happening, that this is not just a nightmare or a hallucination, and nothing but the truth—

Shuichi Minamino, or Kurama, is from today onwards engaged to Botan Fukuyama, a salesgirl working at Kanameki Sto—"

"Why the hell did they reveal your/my name and the location of our work place? Those freaking idiots!" Koenma and Botan cried out in unison as they pointed their index fingers accusingly at the television screen. Whatever was said after that from the news lady, was promptly ended as Shizuru switched the machinery off.

"Well, let's be honest, on the bright side, our store is famous now!" she jested, a laugh erupting from her throat. "And since business is kinda slow these days, this is a good thing! Right, Koenma?" she asked the brown-haired manager who had his shoulders slumped in utter despair, and proceeded to pat him on his back, her laughter growing obnoxiously louder.

"As if!" Koenma hissed, slapping her hand away. "My store will be reduced to rubble!"

Shizuru creased her eyebrows in confusion. "Why the heck are you angry at me?" she asked, before dully stating, "Botan's the one who got engaged."

"Then, are you blaming me?!" roared said girl in irritation. Oh, good gods! She was going insane, and was bordering on pulling her hair out of their roots.

Keiko and Yukina, being the calmest in the group, could only sweatdrop as their three friends started to argue with one another about who was right and who was wrong, their bickering ending up growing making less and less sense with each sentence.

"W-well, at least, we know the fan girls wouldn't come after you now, Botan! They're too busy running to temples, and crying over Kurama-san to care!" Keiko spoke in an awkward and nervous tone in an attempt to ease the tension, another sweatdrop appearing at the back of her forehead as her best friend shot her a half glare and half incredulous stare.

"Are you serious, Keiko? Do you really believe that? Now that they know where I am, the only thing they're gonna do is flood this place and attempt murder on me!" Botan exclaimed in a mixture of fear and annoyance. A shiver went down her spine as she thought of the prospect of rabid, pissed off fan girls plotting her death – most likely in the slowest and most painful ways.

As if on cue, the ear-rupturing sound of screams – to which all of them were tainted with pure bloodlust and complete and utter wrath – echoed outside, somewhere nearby the store. Just as Koenma and the girls turned their heads to peer at what caused the noise, their eyes widened in shock as they caught side of a group of fan girls, all seeming very ticked off and unsatisfied, running for their store. Koenma's face drained in color at the realization of the fact he might lose his precious store under the hands of crazy groupies, whilst Botan's soul, by now, had left her body due to the overwhelming shock.

Oh, but not literally, of course.

However, just as the insane fan girls were seven meters from the entrance, a car – or more precisely, a shiny black limo – came out of nowhere, speeding on the road and halting in front the store, fortunately blocking the groupies only way of entering the poor store. Botan's soul drifted back into her body, and Koenma's countenance regained its normal color at the sudden appearance. Confused, the young manager and his salesgirls could only watch as the door opened, and out stepped a long, black-pants covered leg, before out popped its owner – dressed in a dark turtleneck shirt, a pair of brown men boots, stood proudly a certain red-haired young man, his crimson mane pulled up in a messy ponytail. His black sunglasses felled a little over his nose, revealing his deep, piercing emerald irises, before he shifted them back into place. As instantly as he exited the car and shut the door close behind him, the group of fan girls started bawling and gushing at the same time, simultaneously crying over the fact that he no longer belonged to them – not that he ever was – and screaming over his oozing hotness.

Botan stood inside the store, her jaws wide open as she watched Kurama fix the top of his turtleneck shirt, and knocked once at the driver's window, as if gesturing for the other person to come out. Her friends were, for whatever reason, clapping at the grand entrance and congratulating her for catching such a magnificent man. Really, all it took was for him to step out a car to be considered something as magnificent? Really, the guy was so charming even his presence seemed to put people in utter awe.

Except for her, of course. No way was she awed by his handsome features. No, no, of course not. She was not drooling over him. No, of course not. The thought was simply unthinkable, preposterous and hilarious. Of course not… not at those long, strong legs… or those strong biceps, and muscles flexing… and most certainly, not his wet, plump and totally kissable lips… ones, dare she say it, that she had kissed once before…

Okay, whoa. Stop, Botan. You sound like such a pervert, she reprimanded herself in her thoughts as another crimson shade infuriatingly found its way to her cheeks. Fortunately for her, Kurama was too busy discussing something with a man, a black-haired lad wearing a hat – for some odd reason – that had exited from the driver's seat. In an instant, she could recognized him as Kuronue, Kurama's bodyguard and most importantly, the one who had sent her and Kurama home last night. I should thank him sometime, Botan mused to herself, momentarily forgetting about the presence of her betrothed outside her work place…

… until he opened the door, and entered.

Botan felt as if her soul was on the verge of leaving her body again, but she swiftly regained her composure. For some reason, seeing him at the store caught her by surprise and amazement all over again. It wasn't as if this was the first time he'd been here, though, so it was odd to feel all self-conscious and flustered over this… this simple visit or whatever it was he was planning.

She eyed Kurama as he slid his hands into his pockets, coolly nodding his head towards Koenma and her girl friends. For once, Botan was caught off guard by the fact he could actually be a bit respectful and acknowledging – albeit, not all the time, and obviously, only when he was in the mood or felt the need to.

Her blush darkened as his gaze abruptly settled on her form, his deep stare seeming to bore into her soul as he gaped at her, but said nothing. He continued to fix his eyes on her for a few more seconds, before averting them towards Koenma.

"Forgive me for intruding," he informed, making a graceful bow of apology, and further bewildering Botan who was pondering who the Kurama standing before her was. Apparently, he also had the weird ability of changing his personality when he wanted to.

Koenma, who was still contemplating the fact that the young redheaded actor whom everyone seemed to worship was actually standing in his store, could only nod mutely in response. "O-okay, sure…"

"It's alright," Shizuru, who was more relaxed than anyone in the group –minus Kurama– blurted out, breaking into a fit of laughter. But, for a brief moment, Botan could have sworn her friend spared a fleeting glance over Kurama's shoulder – and right at a certain man with long, black hair, who was calming down the long line (wait, they formed a line?) of angry fan girls. Oh, right. She had a crush on Kuronue.

Kurama, having noticed the older woman's sneaky glance at his best friend, couldn't stifle the light smirk that curved at the corners of his lips. Despite his amusement, he curtly uttered, "And I also apologize for my fan girls… who nearly barged in to your lovely store." Botan almost snorted at the last couple of words, but immediately held back. Wasn't he the one who told her that her work place was a shabby spot? "But, please. Do not be disheartened. In due time, this will all pass. Besides, it is not like they will not know, sooner or later. This news was bound to be broadcasted in public, anyway, so we are simply experiencing the inevitable," he elaborated in a professional-like manner.

Keiko nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, that's true. This was going to happen, anyway, so might as well just deal with it right now."

"By the way, Kurama-san?" Yukina's soft voice suddenly chimed in, and the sea-green haired girl gave the redhead a polite, gentle smile as he regarded her with a questioning gaze.

"What is it?"

"How is my brother doing?" she asked.

Kurama blinked, confused. "Brother? Who are you talking about, if I may ask?" he inquired, instead of answering her question. Although, judging by her appearance, Kurama could only guess what person…

"My brother, Hiei," Yukina told him, her smile broadening a little at her brother's name passed her lips.

"Oh, Hiei?" Kurama grinned. Jackpot. "He is doing just great. He is a wonderful manager, albeit a bit temperamental sometimes."

You're one to talk! Botan cried in her thoughts, but dared not voice them out, lest she'd find herself buried deep under the ground by the redhead.

Yukina giggled at his words. "I see…" As expected of her brother. Even so, it was good and a relieving thought knowing that he was alright.

"And you are Yukina, I presume?" Kurama questioned, wanting to confirm his suspicions. At the girl's small nod, his grin broadened ever so slightly. No wonder Hiei was throwing a fit and cursing at his fiancé – and him, too, of course – on the way to her work place; he must have been irritated at the prospect of his precious little sister being harassed by a bunch of fan girls, and most probably blamed Botan and himself for the whole thing. Ah, what a protective big brother his best friend was.

This would surely be a great subject to poke fun at Hiei for.

"Can I see him?" Yukina abruptly inquired, her eyes wide and hopeful.

Kurama's grin wavered a little. "I am terribly sorry, Yukina-san, but I afraid not. He is quite busy lately, so I do not think he have the time, especially not now. But, I am sure he would be overjoyed to meet you again, so please be sure to call him and tell him that. Since he is going to be mostly at Osaka due to the fact I am living here now, so you can see him anytime you like," he told her, giving the small girl a sympathetic smile.

Fortunately, Yukina understood. Of course, her brother had a life and a career. And managing an actor was difficult than it would seem, so a part of her had actually expected that kind of response.

"I understand."

Watching the girl calmly accept his answer, Kurama inwardly expelled a sigh of relief. He nearly feared for his life: Hiei would definitely have him killed and chopped into a million pieces if he were to make his sister cry. A thought suddenly occurred to him, reminding him of the reason he first came to this place – other than stopping Botan from being devoured by a bunch of fan girls, of course.

"Speaking of which, is it okay if I borrow Botan for a bit?" he asked the others, and gained a few baffled stares in return.

"Why?" Shizuru inquired, tilting her head to the side.

"There is an interview she and I must attend at the moment," Kurama answered, Botan crying out a loud 'What?!' in shock and her friends giving out "oooh"s of amazement.

"I see. It must be to talk about your engagement, huh?" Koenma guessed, though he suspected that was the case. After all, who would want to interview my bubbly salesgirl, anyway? As pretty as she is, she is no celebrity. He mused, nodding to himself.

Kurama nodded his head as a yes. "Then, I will take my leave now. I apologize for the inconvenience." He turned to peer at his blue haired girl fiancé, who was panicking and stumbling over some words. He seemed oddly calm and collected as he grabbed her hand in his, Botan too absorbed in the thought of having to be interviewed to notice and blush as she usually did, as he began to pull her along.

"W-wait-!" she tried to say, only to find herself to do so with the overwhelming shock in her system.

"Let's go, dearest," Kurama said, his voice oddly sweet, with a dangerously menacing edge to it, as if warning her not to back out and leaving her no choice but to comply. Was this interview that important to him? She watched, dumbfounded, as Kurama waved a hand at her friends in goodbye, before proceeding to drag her out of the door. She distinctively heard the fan girls yelling at her in anger, but could barely care, as she was more preoccupied with the goddamn interview to care.

Oh, why were the heavens so cruel?

Kurama seemed strangely impatient to get all of this over with as he opened the door, and gently pushed her inside.

Botan, on the other hand, was on the verge of freaking out.