Yay chapter ten! It's kind of a pointless filler chapter, but those are almost as much to write as the action filled, plot-important ones! And almost as much to read. So, enjoy yourselves. Oh, and I'm sorry this took a little longer than usual to post, but my Internet has been down since Tuesday.

~*~

            Botan grinned happily as she opened the door to her apartment. She hummed a merry tune to herself as she made her way into the kitchenette and set the very full envelope down on the table. That was quite a bit of money that Karasu had given her. Quite a bit. Enough to pay all of her bills for the next three months, with some left over to buy a weeks worth of new outfits.

            And Botan, like most other girls, loved to shop. A lot. In fact, on her way back from Karasu's apartment, she'd stopped by a corner boutique and bought one new shirt, skirt, pair of shoes, and handbag in celebration.

            Apparently, the artifact had been worth much more than Karasu originally had thought. And he always sold to the highest bidder. So they had ended up with a very hefty sum of money.

After Karasu's initial coldness toward her when she had arrived at his apartment, he'd given her the envelope, and watched with a small smile as she opened it. Botan had been delighted, and after she'd danced around the room a few times Karasu had asked her to join him for a dinner celebration. In high spirits, Botan had immediately agreed.

Now she was back in her flat, trying to decide what to wear. Karasu had mentioned the name of some restaurant, a swanky place across town. So she figured she'd dress for the occasion.

Botan giggled as she bounded into her bedroom and flung open her closet door. It had been a while since she'd dressed up for anything. She rummaged through her cloths, a slight frown on her face. Decisions, decisions… She pulled out a pretty pale pink number, one of her favorites. It was a simple dress, but still very pretty, and did a wonderful job bringing out the color of her eyes. She laid it out on the bed and admired it. She hadn't had an excuse to wear it for a long time.

She checked her watch. She had enough time for a nap before she took a shower and got ready. And she was exhausted. Trying to move around normally while you have a few cracked ribs tends to take a lot out of a person… Botan yawned and kicked off her shoes, she moved the dress from the bed to the chair next to her vanity. Then she set her alarm clock, gingerly lowered herself to the bed, curled up, and fell asleep.

~*~

When Kurama finally left Reikai, all he wanted to do was to go to sleep. It had been a rather draining day for some reason.

Koenma hadn't been able to obtain a layout of the Inuyoukai Lord's estate for him yet, but he had managed to get a hold of the list of all the places they expected the 'Artful Dodger' to have hit in the past two years. It wasn't too terribly extensive, but the heists were definately impressive.

The thief had managed to steal the crown off of a Snake demon Lords head while he was sleeping. Kurama smiled as he read.

He gently opened the door to his house, quietly making his way upstairs to his room. His mother sometimes napped in the afternoon or evening, and he didn't want to wake her. But he needn't have worried.

"Shuichi, dear? Is that you?" Kurama smiled fondly at the sound of his mother's voice. He turned to the kitchen, where the sound came from, and walked in.

"That depends. Which Shuichi are you looking for, mother?" Shiori turned from the stove, where she had been chopping carrots and smiled at her son.

"Big Shuichi."

"Then, yes. It's me." Shiori smiled gently and hugged him; Kurama smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around her in return. She pulled away and looked at him, still smiling.

"Now then Shuichi, where have you been all afternoon? I was a little worried about you!" Kurama suddenly felt guilty.

"I'm sorry mother. I went to the ice cream parlor with Botan after school." Shiori's ears immediately perked up. She smiled widely at Kurama.

"Who's Botan?" Kurama couldn't help it. At the exited expression on his mothers face, he blushed.

"She's a girl from school." Shiori looked very happy to hear it.

"Oh, my goodness. I've wondered how long you would be able to resist those girls who follow you around. I'm glad to hear that you've started dating! Oh… My little boy is growing up." Kurama blushed even harder. If only she knew about the trysts he'd had as Youko, she wouldn't have looked at him like he was an innocent child. And wait, what was this about dating? It wasn't a date. He'd just taken a girl out for ice cream to talk. An attractive girl… But that didn't mean anything!

"It… It wasn't a date, mother. We just needed to talk about some… Stuff… So I took her to a place where we could do so without interruptions. Besides," he added bitterly, " she paid for her own ice cream." Shiori regarded him fondly.

"Oh, Shuichi dear. If it wasn't a date, then why are you blushing so much? And just because she paid for her own ice cream doesn't mean anything. Ever hear of going dutch? Some people just feel more comfortable paying for themselves. Though I'm sure your gentlemanly pride was slightly insulted, wasn't it? That's because I've raised such a good boy…" She reached up and cupped his cheek, smiling. Kurama smiled back at her.

            "So anyway, tell me about this Botan girl." Kurama blushed again.

            "Mother, I really don't-" Kurama was cut off by his stepfather's call from the living room.

            "Shiori, dear! I've just made reservations! They're going to seat us at eight!"

            "Alright, honey!" Shiori turned swiftly back to Kurama.

            "That's right, I can't believe I forgot! Shuichi, dear, your step father made three thousand dollars off of one of his antiques today! Can you believe it? To celebrate, he's taking us all to dinner at some fancy restaurant. Isn't that exiting? Dress nicely; we'll leave in about an hour. Oh, and help your brother pick out some suitable cloths will you?" Kurama nodded and smiled at his mother.

            "That's great news. Yeah, I'll help little Shuichi find something to wear, don't worry mother." Shiori smiled at him.

            "You're such a good son, Shuichi." She turned back to chopping carrots. At Kurama's questioning expression she gestured to them, "For tomorrow. I'm making a roast." Kurama nodded and went upstairs to take a quick nap, shower, and pick out some cloths for himself and little Shuichi.

            ~*~

            Botan stood blissfully under the hot spurts of water coming out of the showerhead. It felt great, soothing on her sore ribs. She rinsed the rest of the soap off her body, and shut the water off. She stepped out onto the mat and wrapped a fluffy white towel around herself. Sliding into her slippers, she left the bathroom and headed to her room.

            As she was slipping into her undergarments, the phone rang.

            "Hello?"

            "Hello Botan." It was Karasu. "I was wondering, do you have a dress picked out?" Botan made a strange face at the wall.

            "Well, of course."

            "Don't wear it. I've picked something out for you. It should arrive at your apartment any minute." The doorbell rang. Botan's brow furrowed.

            "Wait a minute. I am perfectly capable of picking out my own cloths, thank you!"

            "… It's a gift, Botan. I would be pleased if you would wear it." Botan couldn't think of anything to reply with.

            "A- alright then. But it better be decent! I'm not showing up at that restaurant half naked!" Karasu's light laughter calmed her down slightly.

            "I assure you, Botan, I am a man of taste. I wouldn't parade you around in something unsuitable."

            "You'd better not…"

            "I have to go. I have my own preparations to finish." Botan giggled.

            "Yeah, I bet you have to spend longer on your hair than I do!" Karasu laughed sarcastically.

            "Ha, ha. But really, I must go. Now, I'll meet you there at eight." He hung up without waiting for her to reply. Botan put the phone back in the cradle.

            He'd bought her a dress to wear? That was… nice… But also a little creepy. She went to see what it was. Botan shrugged on her robe and went to the front door. She pulled it open and retrieved the package on the front steps. She took it into the kitchen to open.

            Botan dug through the tissue paper until she saw a bit of black material. She grabbed a hold and drew it out.

            It was… gorgeous. Really. Off shoulders, tight, floor length, slit to mid thigh on the right, and made of the most delicious black satin. Botan ran her hands over it admiringly.

            She had just the shoes to wear with it too. Botan scurried back to her room.

            Being the happy person she generally was, Botan wasn't normally attracted to dark colors. As a rule, she didn't own many black articles of clothing. In fact, besides her thief's attire, she owned only two black shirts, a black skirt, black slacks, and a killer pair of black stilettos.

            Botan sat back on her bed, wincing as she rewrapped her ribs, and wishing that someone were there to help her. Though not necessarily Karasu. When she was finished, she dried her hair, pined it back with a clip, but still left enough down to give her hair a nice, waterfall effect. She applied her make up and jewelry, and then she slid into the dress, putting on the stilettos last.

            As she stood in front of the mirror, she couldn't help feeling a little ridiculous. She looked so… different. Grown up. Mature.

            Which made her giggle. Because she wasn't any of those things. And that made her feel even sillier, as she watched her 'grown up' reflection begin giggling like a schoolgirl.

            Botan checked her watch, and realized that if she wanted to get to the restaurant on time she'd better leave now. So she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

            ~*~

            Kurama and his family waited to be seated by the hostess. Kurama glanced the restaurant, noticing how nicely everyone was dressed. He didn't feel to out of place in his black slacks and white button up Johnny collar, but he certainly didn't compare to some of the men here, most of whom were wearing tux's.

            Shiori gripped his arm gently and he turned to face her.

            "This is a nice place, isn't it? It would be a great place to take a girl on a date…" She gave him a knowing look and Kurama blushed slightly.

            "Look, mom, I'm not dating anyone! I didn't take Botan to the ice cream parlor on a date, we just needed to talk."

            "… I don't think you'd be so defensive if you didn't really like this girl." Kurama sighed in frustration. He didn't want to argue with his mother. Even though she was wrong. Very, very wrong. Because he didn't like any of the girls at his school. And Botan wasn't an exception. It was just that she was new. That's the only reason that he'd been drawn to her at first. Because she was new and she didn't notice him. But now she had noticed him and there wasn't any mystery anymore. So… He could stop thinking about whenever he wanted to. Which he did, so he would stop right now. Of course, it was difficult when his family kept bringing her up…

            "Big brother has a girlfriend, mom?" Little Shuichi was now looking curiously at them. Shiori smiled.

            "Well… he says no, but I'm beginning to wonder." Kurama rolled his eyes.

            "Well, she can't possibly be as good as my girlfriend…" Here little Shuichi began to ramble about the good traits his girlfriend possessed. Kurama cherished the slight reprieve this gave him from his mother's teasing. This also gave him a chance to look around some more. The place was very nice, with an elegant feel to it.

            Soon, the hostess came and took them to their table, set back in a corner with intimate lighting. There was a candle on the table, as well as a single red rose in a crystal vase. Kurama had to admit that his mother was right, this would be an excellent place to take a girl on a date. He'd keep it mind in case he ever did find a ningen worthy of his affections. Which he doubted.

            He sat back in his chair. Having a tucked away table was nice, it gave one the freedom to watch other people without being obvious about it, and Kurama did love to watch people. His gaze was sweeping across the room when something caught his eye. Something with blue hair. And a very… alluring dress.

            It was Botan. A very sexy Botan. A Botan with all the stops pulled out. A Botan attached to the arm of another guy.

            Wait. No. This could not be. She'd said she didn't date. That's why she had used his name to ward off all the attention of would be ardent admirers.  So something wasn't making scene with this scenario. Here Botan was, dressed to kill, with a guy, at a very date type of place. Which is what she had been trying to avoid… Wasn't it?

            Maybe Botan had an identical twin? He watched them warily as they were seated. The man pulled out Botan's chair for her. Kurama growled. Botan blushed and sat down. Their table was positioned in a way that allowed Kurama to see Botan head on, but he could only see the back of the mans head. He continued to watch them throughout dinner, feeling inexplicably jealous.

            ~*~

AN: Well… That was pointless. But still fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it. Anyway, thankies to these people:

DeityofRoses: Well here's a chapter that's kind of long… Heh, thank you for thinking my fic is awesome… ::blushes:: I can't wait to read the one you're going to post!

allin656: Okay, here's the next chapter!

Saiyan Under Cover: Heh, I'm glad it's getting interesting. And I think your new name is cool.

Yume Ookami: Now look here…Er… Anyway. Karasu is scary. And possessive. You'll really see that in later chapters.

Lialiakicks: Thank you! Actually, I didn't plan this out at all really. I had a basic idea, but no details down. So it kind of comes together chapter by chapter, you know?

Frith: ::munches the tootsie roll:: Mmm. This is great! Especially because I hardly got any candy this Halloween. Even after we passed off my friend as an autistic eleven year old. I guess we just started trick-or-treating to late. Oh well. Since I updated, do I get more candy? I'm a choco-holic… And speaking of updates, when are you going to update your lovely fic, hmmm? Anyway, I know Karasu is insane. I like him that way. Just as I like Hakuma… By the way, can I entreat you once more to not kill him?! Please?

Sarah: Ah, thank you for understanding… I love writing longer fics that take things slow. That way you can put so much more into it!

PassionateAngel: Thank you, sweetness. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Pchanfreeshy: Okay, here's an update! By the way, is your pen name a Ranma reference?

Corkycomp: Thank you! And I know exactly what you mean about the whole story, pairing thing. And here's a longer chapter for you to enjoy. By the way, I really like your fic too. Spike/Faye rules! I was loading the window to review it when my internet crashed… I'll try again later.

ShitzoofDiscord: Refreshing… Like a nice cold sprite! Or something like that. Anyway, thank goodness for art club, eh? Or I would never have found my heterosexual soul mate. Who doesn't like eggnog… But that's okay, I don't like avocado so we're even! Anyway, I hope this chapter is up to your expectations… Though I highly doubt it.

            Okay peoples! It's review time! Keep me motivated!