Author's Note: Hey, look what the cat dragged in, a new chapter of TGOY! Sheesh, it really took me a very long time to update this little story of mine.
Standard Disclaimers apply here.
Chapter 11: Of Hopes and Dreams
Kurama woke up, feeling great, 4 o'clock in the morning, hours earlier from his daily wake up call. For some strange reason, he felt like a truckload of emotional baggage was lifted from his shoulders. He stretched his arms as he sat up and studied his surroundings. It was still dark outside, an obvious indicator of how early he chose to wake up.
Remembering that his mother was confined in the hospital, he felt a pang of guilt strike his heart.
'Don't worry. I know she'll make it. Like you, Kurama-kun, she's strong. Your mother won't be beaten by this. Just have faith her, and everything will be alright.'
Botan's soft voice filtered his thoughts, erasing every inch of doubt he felt. Those words she uttered the night before became his source of strength for that day. He needed it to be able to accept whatever today's verdict would be – good health for his mother or the contrary.
Focusing his senses to his darkened room, he sees an inanimate Botan curled up in a small couch located in far corner of the room in a very uncomfortable position. Only now did it occur to him how he never thought of what Botan's nightly activities were while he was sleeping, tra la la-ing in dreamland.
Even if she were a ghost, um, a sprit, the position she was in still looked very uncomfortable. He was so sure she'd get either a stiff neck or an aching back, and much worse, both, in the morning.
Stepping out of the comfort of his own bed, he walked toward the sleeping form the young spirit in his room. When he reached her, he suddenly felt guilty with his intent to wake her up.
For starters, he did not think it would be wise to nudge her out of her slumber for his hands would only be touching air. He would surely look stupid just by doing that.
Second, he had no right to wake her up in an ungodly hour such as this. Even if she was in her current ghostly state, she still needed rest.
And last but definitely not the least, she looked terribly adorable sleeping like that, her arms bent and tucked to her chest, soft cherry lips slightly parted, strands of her blue hair dancing lightly to the soft breeze coming from the opened window nearby.
For a moment there, she looked so real. Real enough for him to touch.
Restraining himself from doing anything stupid, he walked to the other direction, dismissing the image of Botan's slumbering form. As much as possible, he did not want to disturb her. He remembered that there was a more pressing issue he had to deal with for the moment.
Making his way to the bathroom, he took off his shirt and expertly tossed it into the hamper, noticing the growing pile of clothes in it. Really, he had to do laundry more often. Finally free from any form of clothing (drool), he entered the shower room and braced himself for the cold water that came rushing out from the shower head.
On the other side of town, another young man awakened from a very unusual dream. It has been a very long time since he last dreamt of anything. Being forced into adulthood at a very tender age of seven years old, he believed that dreams were for losers and he refused to be branded under that category.
He shifted restlessly in his bed, his deep blue orbs focusing on the intricate patterns of his ceiling when he finally settled in the most comfortable position he found. He placed his right elbow on his forehead and concentrated on what he saw in his most recent dream.
For the first time in many months, he saw Botan. And like most of the dreams he had of her, she was smiling at him. He realized how much he missed that wonderful smile of hers.
He smiled bitterly at a thought he had. It was inevitable that when he sees herm the real Botan, again death would surely be his gift to her. A proper reward for what she did or at least planned to do to him. He furrowed his brows, controlling the rage that was starting to form.
After a few deep breaths, he calmed himself letting himself drown at the image of Botan in his dream, her kind periwinkle orbs mesmerizing him as always. He sighed sadly at how ironic things were. Maybe this was his payment for the things he did.
If the circumstances were entirely different, then things would, definitely, be different.
For a moment, at least, he would let himself succumb to his own weakness he would never admit to anyone.
Closing his eyes, he let his thoughts wander and go back to the time when life had been less complicated.
The first time he saw her was during the funeral. He was very much aware that she was the primary reason Ryo was working form him despite knowing the dangers his job entails. Knowing his late employee, Ryo would not allow him touch or even lay his eyes on his beloved sister. She wasn't that hard to notice, aside from the striking resemblance of their facial features, her rare azure colored hair was one damn give away.
Only a few people were present at the ceremony. As far as he knew, the siblings were already orphaned long before he met Ryo and their only living relatives were not in the country to even mourn, nor did they care, for his death. Those who attended were mostly friends and enemies as well.
On the sidelines, he saw five men sporting dark suits located in different strategic points, ready to shoot anyone who dares lay a finger on their boss with any evil intent. These were the same men who had beaten the young man who lay inside the coffin right now. But he would not let them put an end to the show; it would be boring and messy.
'I did him a favor, actually,' Sanada thought to himself a small smirk forming in his face. He delivered one clean shot. A lone bullet piercing right through his heart; through his very soul. He died even before he hit the ground.
His wandering thoughts were brought back to reality as a soft feminine voice sliced through the air, reaching his sensitive ears. There, by the podium, stood her slim form dressed in a black dress, yet it did nothing to diminish her beauty, it even made her light blue tresses shine with a magnificent luster. As she started with the eulogy, the slight tremor that clung to her tender voice did not escape his ears. He was so sure that she would cry and break down before her speech ended. And he was never wrong.
But this young lady, like his brother, proved him wrong. As she continued with her little speech about his dead brother, not a single tear fell from her periwinkle eyes. Instead, strength emanated through it. A strength similar yet different from the one he saw numerous of times from Ryo's own eyes.
By the end of the ceremony, most of the guests had already left, but Botan stood there by her brother's freshly dug grave, her eyes devoid of any emotion. Tiny droplets of rain started to fall from the sky, yet the young woman remained unyielding, still caught up in her own contemplation. Before the weather gets worse, Sanada grabbed the umbrella his henchman was holding above his head to shield him from the rain.
He stood beside her, her shoulder touching his upper arm, never reaching his shoulders due to his height, and held the wide umbrella above their heads. "Are you not aware of the current weather condition? It would be raining cats and dogs in just a while. You know, if you stay here any longer you'll catch a cold," he initiated the conversation, trying his best to inject a little humor. But it seems that his humor was not working to his advantage.
She remained silent; Sanada took this as an opportunity to look at her closer. He noticed the slight blush on her cheeks, probably from the cold weather, that he decided then and there, suited her. Her long dark lashes emphasized her sparkling colored eyes and her pink thin lips were pursed tightly, preventing it from trembling with the cold. She has this natural charm that can captivate even the most heartless of persons despite her gloomy black dress. And Sanada was not an exception this time.
"I promised him long ago that I will never shed a tear," goes Botan, "That is why I'm letting the rain cry for me."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Sanada said, almost sincere, almost real. Kami-sama knows how much regret he felt for the death of Fukuyama Ryo – none whatsoever. Yet, one had to commend his acting skills.
"He lived a good life, and that's enough," Botan answered after a long moment of silence.
"I know," Sanada said, his eyes boring straight into Ryo's tombstone. With his comment, Botan looked up to him, somewhat confused with what he said.
Realizing her questioning look, he replied, "Oh, it seems I haven't introduced myself yet.
Pardon my forwardness, I am Hitoshi Sanada. I was Ryo's employer and friend as well," he said before trailing a lonesome look on his grave.
"His works are truly magnificent, and to tell you the truth, I am a big fan," he said thoughtfully. He looked at her at the corner of his eye, searching for any reaction, but still she remained passive.
He was about to say something about some random thing when her soft voice cut him, "I hated those." If ever he was shocked, he never showed it. This girl truly mystified him beyond words. "Those creations were what took him away from me. Even if the proceeds from the sale of his paintings were what helped us get by from day to day and funded my studies in art school, I would rather have us starve than be left alone in Paris."
Sanada just stood there, still unable to grasp how this girl would prefer being poor than to live a more comfortable life with money at their pockets. "It seems that I've been rambling again, I'm sorry for boring you with such thoughts," Botan said cheerfully, her cheeks gaining more color from embarrassment as she scratched the back of her head.
Sanada bowed his head before saying "I'm sorry but it seems that I should be the one to blame for your demise. It was my directive that Ryo-san work here in Japan, and it forced him to leave you in Paris." He inwardly laughed at the double meaning his words held. Wait a minute, was he actually apologizing to her? From the looks of it, yes. Definitely another first!
"It is not my place to forgive you. It was his choice to go here and work for you, he could have said 'no', but he chose this path thinking it was the best for us. It probably was, but as they say the best way is not necessarily the easiest one," she said, sighing as she finished.
"Its good to hear you don't hold negative feelings toward your brother. He was a good and honorable man, I would know," he said, mumbling the last part of his speech. Shifting, he took Botan's right hand and placed the umbrella handle in it. Botan, whose eyes were now wide, was obviously surprised by this act of kindness.
"I hope to see you again, Fukuyama-san," he said, leaving the shelter that the umbrella had to offer from the drenching rain, "Until we meet again." With that he moved forward as one of his henchmen rushed toward him, a new umbrella clutched in his hand.
Botan could only nod her head at the retreating form of Sanada. She was stunned by his presence. No one, not even her, can deny that his charm was engaging. But he held a mysterious air that made her spine tingle with something akin to fear, telling her to become more wary.
Right now, she didn't know whether she would be looking forward to see him again.
Sanada moved uncomfortably in his bed. Remembering her was not a healthy thing to do, especially with such circumstances surrounding them.
But he couldn't help himself not to think of her. Even in the short time he took her under his wing, she was able to bring back something he thought he had lost a very long time ago – his heart and soul.
Botan was the only person who could bring out the best in him. When with her, he can't help but smile, a thing he wouldn't normally do. Botan unknowingly thawed the ice that surrounded being, and he slowly but surely learned to open up to her. She made him dream and aspire to become a better person.
In short, he liked the Sanada Hitoshi that he was when Botan was by his side.
Only with her.
Only her.
He was so close to believing that he would be willing to change and sacrifice many things, until she made that step to betray him and shatter everything he held for her. He had trust issues, and it was very difficult for him to forgive others.
Yet, even with her betrayal, he was hoping that she'll come back to him as the old Botan he used to know. Hoping that she'll be able to forgive him for taking away her happiness and bring back the man he was with her. Hoping that he wouldn't have to pull the trigger and kill everything that was good in him.
Hope. One of the feelings she had introduced to him.
And aside from that, there was love.
Kurama strolled along the white corridors of the hospital, feeling a little bit uncomfortable. He never did like hospitals. His father died in a hospital after meeting a car accident. He watched as his father bled to death in the emergency room and not one of the residents seemed to care.
After his death, Kurama's mother suffered from depression and had to go to the hospital several times due to her weakened state. And every time Kurama went there to accompany his mother, people died. As he grew older, things didn't change, and it scared him just thinking that his mother would be next in the death list.
Too caught up in his own thoughts, Kurama didn't notice the voice of his younger brother calling out to him. Before heading to the hospital, Kurama passed by his mother's house and picked up Shuichi. Feeling a little frustrated, the young Suichi resorted to tugging his older brother's hand a little too hard. Startled by the sudden force, he looked at his brother in question.
"I just saw Yusuke pass by over there," he said pointing to the now vacant hallway, "I called out to him, but it seems he's deep in thought as well. Sometimes, you guys can be so different and similar at the same time."
"Yusuke? I wonder what he's doing here so early in the morning," he said, questions as to who he might be visiting in the hospital. It couldn't be Kuwabara, even though he was often involved in street fights, he had Yukina to take care of his wounds and bruises. If it were Keiko, Yusuke would have informed them of her condition. It couldn't be Hiei either, since he hated hospitals as much as he did. And he doubted if Yusuke would visit Hiei alone. It couldn't' be Shizuru, since she's stronger than a horse and Kuwabara. Genkai wasn't a fan of science and technology; she would rather stick to her herbs and other medicinal plants,
His mind went on thinking of other people who Yusuke might possibly visit but he was interrupted once again by his younger brother. "Hey, nii-san, we're here," he said motioning towards the door of their mother's room, "You should stop zoning out, y'know. You almost bumped into a wall back there."
"Okay, I'll be more alert this time," Kurama chuckled as he realized how the younger boy was trying to be the older brother. As they entered the room, they both saw their mother already up, talking animatedly with her husband, who, even with his disheveled state, was obviously happy to see Shiori well.
"Mother!" it was Suichi who first rushed to her side, hugging her tightly. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked with concern. Even if they were not related by blood, the bond between them remained strong. Suichi's biological mother died after giving birth to him that is why he never really felt a mother's love until his father married Shiori.
Shifting her eyes, Shiori saw the lean form of her older son as he slowly walked to her. She saw something different in his eyes. Those bottle green eyes, which used to reflect pain and suffering, were now staring at her with peace and serenity.
It's as if he had changed a lot since the last time she saw him, which was like three months ago. Physically, he looked the same, still her handsome son. But whatever changes that had transpired internally, she had a feeling it was for the good.
Before Kurama could greet Shiori, she cut him off with a very unusual question, "Did you get yourself a girlfriend without telling me, Shuuichi?" Both Suichi and Kenji Hatanaka joined Shiori in giving the now blushing Kurama curious looks.
"Nii-san, is that true?" Suichi asked, his eyes wide with excitement.
"Is it one of the employees in the office?" It was now Hatanaka's turn to question him.
After a moment of trying his best to calm himself and subdue the blush that managed to appear in his cheeks, Kurama finally answered, "Well, hello to you, too, mother. And to answer your question, I don't have a girlfriend and if I really had one, you would be the first to know."
The three gave him unbelieving looks that made him feel uncomfortable. "It's true!" he said, sounding more defensive than he would let himself sound like. Kurama felt childish defending himself from his family who didn't seem to believe him.
"Nii-san has a girlfriend!" Shuichi declared almost too happily as he jumped in place.
"I told yo–," before Kurama could complete his statement, his family bombarded him with another series of awkward questions.
"Who is she? Do we know her?"
"What does she look like?"
"What is she like?"
"Is she nice?"
"How long have you been together?"
The image of Botan made its way inside Kurama's head and butterflies started to multiply in the pit of his stomach. The voices of his family seemed blurred as his thoughts concentrated more on Botan. Before he got carried away any further, he mentally kicked himself, hard, which seemed to wake him up.
And when he got back to his senses, his family threw him the biggest question yet, "When do we get to meet her?"
Before he could protest, the door opened and Dr. Hatoko, Shiori's attending physician, entered with a clipboard in his hand. "Well, it seems like you are having one fun family reunion!" Kurama didn't know whether to be thankful or not by the doctor's appearance. Even if his arrival stopped his family from asking him about his non-existent girlfriend, it also prevented him from giving his explanation. As a result, his family still believed that he had a girlfriend.
"Well, I hope I'm not disturbing any family time, but I now have the results of your medical exam, Mrs. Hatanaka," he said, flipping through the pages of Shiori's file. With this, Kurama held his mother's right hand tightly, lending her courage, while her husband stood on the other side, his right hand gripping her shoulders not too tightly. Suichi was sitting beside Shiori on her bed, clutching her left hand.
"Based on our findings, your previous illnesses had made your heart weak," he paused, briefly looking at their reactions. Good thing, none of them reacted violently, aside from the young Suichi's frown, everything was peachy.
"But it is not incurable. We can prescribe supplements that will help in strengthening your heart. Proper diet and rest is also advised."
"Is there any other way which can hasten her recovery?" Kurama asked, not quite sure if the doctor was saying was good thing or bad thing.
"The nature of your sickness is not physiological, but rather psychological. That is why operating is not an option," he replied.
"So, is there anything we can do about it?" Hatanaka questioned the doctor.
"As I said, her sickness is more psychological in nature, in layman's term, it's more of a state of mind. I suggest you make her happy and avoid her having any negative emotions," Dr. Hataka said then gave a big smile, "But from what I see, you won't have that much of a problem in making her happy."
"I understand. Thank you, Dr. Hatoko," Hatanaka said before smiling at his family.
"I will have you released three days from now so you can gain enough strength before you leave, is that okay, Mrs. Hatanaka?"
"Alright, thank you again, doctor," she gave him a kind smile.
"No need to thank me, just stay healthy, okay?" he said before talking with the rest of the family, "I'll be going now, I still need to do a few rounds. I'll be back after lunch to check up on her."
As soon as Sanda stepped out of his luxurious white limousine, a horde of reporters and photographers bombarded him with questions and snapshots. Instead of pushing them away and say the notorious 'no comment' phrase, as most celebrities nowadays usually do, he graciously answered some of their questions while striking a pose for the cameras, making sure each angle was perfect.
It was most evident that Sanada liked being on the limelight. And it was also obvious that the media people liked to butter him up. As long as he was happy, everyone was happy.
However, their shallow happiness was cut short when a bunch of suited men surrounded Sanada, while another group shooed the annoying newsmen. After all, Sanada was following a tight schedule and he can only offer as much as ten minutes of his time to accommodate them. If they wanted a more up close and personal interview with him, they had to have one scheduled, which by the way was impossible to do. That leaves them settling for a daily 10-minute interaction with the Sanada Hitoshi.
Giving one last wave, Sanada entered the main lobby of Zenith Towers while the rest of the media men dispersed, giving peace and quiet to the front area of the building as if nothing had happened. The employees who bore witness to it were not at all shocked or even curious as to what had just happened. One had to get used to it since it was a daily ritual. In the contrary, what would surprise them really is when one day they arrived in the office without the pesky reporters, cameramen and photographers blocking their way.
Sanada was able to reach his office without much difficulty. Most female employees greeted him with obvious adoration, probably hoping that one of the most sought after bachelor will get to notice them. The glares they got from his bodyguards were not enough to get their hopes down and instead they returned it with equally spiteful looks.
After giving his bodyguards their assignments for the day, Sanada settled himself in his comfy chair and greeted the other person in his office. "Good morning, Botan," he said, looking up to the revered piece of artwork on his wall. With that, he scanned his table, searching for the documents he needed to sign. However, work was the last thing in his mind when he saw the unlabeled folder in the center of his table. Curious, he picked it up and opened it. There, in the first sheet, was the picture of Minamino Shuuichi and some pertinent details.
'Sato sure didn't waste any time,' he thought as he read through his records. He was further impressed by what he learned about him. A worthy opponent he truly was. But the things he learned were merely the tip of the iceberg. He knew there something more to his almost perfect façade, he had to find out the connection he had with Botan, and these information and other facts was not providing him with that link he needed.
He was about to give up and call up Sato to admonish another job poorly done when his stern eyes caught something very interesting.
'Hm, it seems Sato would have to live for another day.'
There in the family and friends list was a certain Urameshi Yusuke.
And how many Yusuke Urameshi's there in Tokyo who has police inspector for his occupation that he knew of?
Only one.
Urameshi Yusuke. Ryo and Botan Fukuyama's childhood friend. The number one obstacle to Sanada's ultimate goal. Sanada knew that even with his insignificant existence in Tokyo Police Department (TPD), Yusuke was still able to pull some strings that made it difficult for him to find Botan.
He could kill him with just a snap of his fingers, but now was not the time. He didn't know how much information Ryo leaked to him. He was also unaware whether Yusuke managed to tell other people about his business. And he being in the TPD, however irrelevant position he had, was not helping.
Placing the files back to its original folder, Sanada stood and paced toward the portrait of perfection in his wall. "Guess what, Botan. It seems like I'm one step closer to finding you," he paused a little, as if expecting it to reply, "I think I should pay Minamino Shuuichi a little visit in his home."
A/N: And CUT! Another chapter in the wraps! I know it was kinda boring, but it is to be expected since I was doing this during my OJT. And the boring environment really got to my writing. Aside from that, I had to close the word file every time my boss passed by, thus interrupting my momentum.
Right now, before you think I totally changed Sanada's personality, I feel the need to explain more on his character since I have a feeling I won't be able to insert this in the succeeding chapters.
Character in Focus: Sanada Hitoshi
Okay, so he's not entirely that evil, he just had a bad childhood. Being the sole heir of their multi-billion dollar business, he was trained to be perfect at a very young age, therefore, there was no room for any mistakes. That is why he has this thing about eliminating people who didn't do their jobs properly.
We can say he's cold and heartless since his parents didn't show enough love and care when he was a child, and I suppose we all know how important it is for every child to feel these kinds of emotions. As a result, it became very hard for him to trust people or to feel any positive emotions for that matter. When Botan came into his life, everything changed (I'll try to show this in the succeeding chapters).
When she betrayed him, his initial reaction was to kill her off. But his strong feelings for her are somehow preventing him from doing so. So as of the moment, he is suffering an internal conflict.
Man, I love to psychoanalyze other people! Anyone wants to be my patient? Hehehe… -
Dear Readers, please don't forget to review! I desperately need the reviews so that I can make this story better. To be honest, even if I already know how this story will end, I think I might be suffering from a slight case of writer's block (Botan's lack of participation in this chapter is enough evidence! Waah, what's happening to me?!) and I find it hard to fill the gap between chapters and the ending. I need new ideas, so I hope you can give me some by saying your thoughts and opinions.
Replies to Reviews:
foxykurama0555 – Here's another chapter for you, hope you like it! I'm so sorry for the very long wait, I have been very busy for the past few months with school. I hope you understand. Thanks for the review! Don't forget to review this one, too!
ANOUNOMOUS – Oh no, I hope you haven't got yourself into any serious trouble by reading my stories! I may just have to stop writing more to keep you out of trouble, ne? Hehe, just kidding. Don't worry, I have absolutely no plans of abandoning this story!
Smexy Kitten – I am so glad that you liked the last chapter. Thanks for the encouragement, and to tell you, we had a 93 for our thesis paper, hooray! Anyway, here's another chapter with more reflections. It seems like I have been writing more flashbacks which makes the story flow somewhat slowly, but I guess its necessary for the development of the story. I hope you like this one as well!
Innocent-Guardian – I am happy to learn that love this humble fiction of mine. Really? It reminded you of another series? Hmm, as far as I'm concerned, there's only one reference of this story which is the movie Just Like Heaven. Maybe I need to check that series out for more inspiration. I hope you didn't loose interest by me taking very long to update, here's a new chapter for you!
Addictedtoinuyasha – Guess what? I'm addicted to Yu Yu Hakusho too! (Especially to Botan and Kurama, weeh!) I'm happy that you liked my story! I'll do my best to make it better and of course, to update more! Thanks again!
sam – Woah, one of the best stories you've read? Thank you so much! Now my ego is inflated 10 times more! Kidding aside, I hope you like this chapter too. I'll do my best to live up to your expectations! Thanks for the review!
MiaHime – Yes, Yusuke is in the picture, isn't it great? I'm trying to put other characters in so that it won't get too boring. I hope this chapter enlightened you why Sanada is so obsessed with our dear Botan. I really don't want to make any character pure evil since I believe that there is good in every person. Also, I like those types of stories where you can't seem to really hate the antagonist. (Maybe I'm just weird… -) Here's an update! Hope you update your story too!
Sainzo Taz - Don't die on me yet! You have to read the whole story first before I let you die! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story of mine. Here's a new chapter for you, enjoy!
Wow… Longest author's note yet…