Euphoria

Summary: She could see the desire pooling in his emerald orbs as he looked straight into her eyes and in a voice, low and husky, said simply, "I want you."

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Chapter 11

"You do realize that this is disturbing on so many levels, right?"

Kurama's eyelids flid open, though no surprise was evident in his pools of emeralds. A smile crossed his lips as he sat up from the bed, his arm unwrapping from Botan's waist as he fixed his gaze on the teenage form of the Reikai prince standing before him. His face the perfect image of grace and composure that Koenma pondered briefly if the fox was just masking his shock over his sudden appearance. But as he saw the quirk on the redhead's lips enlargening ever so slightly, he realized that, no, the former thief had even been anticipating a visit from him. Of course. Koenma should have known better. Kurama must have sensed his energy before he even landed a hand on the doorknob. Had probably even heard his footsteps from a mile away with his sensitive hearing senses.

"Why, Koenma-sama," Kurama addressed him with that curtness dripping heavily in his tone, repressing all other emotions as usual as he stared at the ruler of Reikai, "now to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked casually, as if he was not naked and bare under the sheets with whom one could perceive as Koenma's top ferry girl, who was, by the way, still blisfully ignorant of her own nudity as she continued to doze off.

Koenma's gaze darted from the spirit guide, to the fox, then back and forth, before pinning on the redhead once more. His eyes narrowed slightly, but it was not in a dangerous manner, but bordered on an irritated fashion. "No wonder her report never arrived on my desk," he muttered, without bothering to answer Kurama's question. "Though I must say, despite suspecting this as the only place she could be at, I did not expect to see her… in such a state." A pink tinge coloured his cheeks, and he quickly looked away as the fox went to lift the covers up to allow his mate some more decency. After all, no one was allowed to see her without any clothes on but him.

"Yes, well," Kurama turned his attention to the prince, his smile thin on his lips, "I apologize for keeping her busy. I did not know that she had a report due last night. If I had been more aware…"

"Sure, right, of course," Koenma cut him short, his voice dripping with sarcasm as his countenance contorted into one that matched his tone. "As if you wouldn't want to keep her by your side for as long as you'd want. Hiei's not the only one who knows of your affections for her." He spoke so bluntly that even the usually collected Reikai Tantei member was caught off guard, the surprise intruding his irises disrupting the once unperturbed calmness there as he blinked wide-eyed at the prince.

"You knew?" he murmured, eyes shifting to their normal size as he shook his head and regained his composure. "How?"

"I am not stupid, nor am I blind," Koenma's voice nearly spat at him, venomous, as if he was offended that the fox would regard him in such a way. He might have been a bratty punk at times, but he certainly was not dumb, and he would not let Kurama, of all people, would think of him like that. "I've noticed the sticky exchanges between you and her, the brief smiles you'd always give her when no one was there to see. Your body language implies of your feelings for her, and that's how I found out, plain and simple."

"How long?"

"How long?" Koenma echoed, mouth sucking furiously on the pacifier between his teeth. "Does it matter? Well, it's been years, I think, but not that any of that is relevant."

"Are you…" Kurama paused to spare a fleeting glance at the still slumbering ferry guide beside him, before casting a doubtful gaze at the Reikai prince, "against it? Our relationship, I mean."

"Well, not that I'm against it, though I do fear of the consequences of such a union which is deemed forbidden under Reikai laws." Koenma gingerly traced a finger to his bangs, reaching to swipe a strand that was led astray back to join the rest as he went on, "You must understand. It was already hard enough to persuade my father to let you stay here, much less indulge in sexual affairs with the most favored ferry girl in Reikai. But, considering he was terrified of you running around getting frisky with humans, he agreed, nonetheless. I can comprehend the reason of his concerns; I worry about that, too. And plus, he also believes that it'd be better if you were to have sex with someone you know other than a total stranger. Screwing around with random people, demons or not, is seemed rather unfitting of a Reikai Tantei member, after all." He paused. "He did suggest you having Yukina as a partner though."

A dry short fit of laughter escaped from the half-human's lips. "My, I never knew the great Enma Daioh has such a great sense of humor," he said in a tart voice, ignoring Koenma's cry of keeping his insults about his father to himself in fear of said parent somehow listening in on their conversation as he added, "Hiei would kill me. And besides, I do not want her."

"Yes, since you and I both know who you really desire," Koenma blurted out, before blushing at his own words. He collected himself a second after though as he cleared his throat, his features turning serious before he tucked a lock of brown hair behind his ear and parted his lips to speak. "Look, I don't mind you seeing her. I've known that she likes you for as long as I could remember. And though this is humiliating to admit, I do trust you enough not to hurt her. I mean, I know you can make her happy… and that's what I want. I want her to be happy. With someone she loves and someone who loves her back." His cheeks flushed yet again. "I know, sappy, but yeah, at least I'm honest."

A sense of gratitude seemed to radiate off of the fox, a real, gentle smile playing on his lips as he nodded his head at the prince. "Thank you, Koenma-sama. Your support towards our relationship is very much appreciated."

"Yes, well, let's not get too mushy here," Koenma huffed, though a slight pink hue still remained on his face. "I also came here for another reason," he uttered, and just as soon as he did, the blush seemed to disappear completely, taking its place was a solemn expression as he gave the redhead a long, hard look.

Kurama blinked, but did not waver the smile on his features even though he had a hunch of what it was the Reikai ruler meant. "And that is…?" he inquired anyway, tilting his head to the side as he studied the other male with curious interest.

"The culprit," Koenma spoke almost instantly and Kurama inwardly heaved a heavy sigh. Ah, of course. His suspicions were never off the mark. "You do know who he is, right?"

"What gives you the idea that I do?"

Koenma's disposition seemed to harden, growing fierce as he glowered at the ex-thief. "Look, Kurama, I know that you're hiding something. It's no use keeping it a secret from me."

A delicate red eyebrow arched his way. "What exactly are you implying?" Kurama tried anyway, though he suspected that at the moment nothing he was about to say was able to convince the Reikai prince otherwise.

As if on cue, Koenma let out a loud, scoffing sound. "Sure, of course. Play the fool, why don't you? Well, two can play at that game. I'm not leaving this room until you spit it out."

Kurama's smile eventually faltered, but the composure remained in his relaxed body language and his pools of green. "Is that so? How obstinate."

"Look, I don't know if you've noticed," But of course, he did, "but we're changing roles here. Remember the whole Sensui incident? I knew he was behind it, but I didn't say anything to any of you because I knew his strength far exceeded that of even all four of you combined- but that matters not now, as Yusuke proved to be stronger, but that's not exactly the point here. The point here is that you confronted me when I was keeping secrets. And that's precisely what we're doing here. Except our positions have reversed."

"Yes, well," Gold peeked through vibrant emerald orbs, startling the Reikai prince, "you're forgetting that I'm a hard one to crack."

Shock dying out of his system, Koenma narrowed his hazel eyes at the redhead, his mouth evidently reduced into a thin line of brewing annoyance from behind his pacifier. "You're stubborn. Frustratingly, even more so than Yusuke." He crossed his arms, but the irritation seemed to dissipate from his features as he expelled a deep sigh. "Well, knowing you, I can't exactly win an argument with you. But, oh well, it didn't hurt to try. And besides, I do not wish to be here when Botan wakes up. The moment would be too… tense and awkward, yeah, but mostly awkward." He then looked straight into the emerald-gold eyes that belonged to none other than the former legendary bandit. "Besides, guessing you, I would expect you want to deal with this whole predicament by yourself. However, just know that if things get out of hand, I'll be threatening you with a knife to give me a name whilst sending the rest of the Reikai Tantei to your aid." His voice was firm, will and determination filling his tone as he stared hard at Kurama. Although the idea of him pointing the tip of a blade at the fox's throat was undoubtedly tempting but impossible as he would be outwitted in a matter of seconds, other than the fact that he was a coward, he managed to appear frightening enough to capture the attention of the redhead, who nodded in affirmation in return.

Koenma nodded his head back in return, before whirling around and touching a fist on the doorknob. He had the door only an inch opened before he turned his head around to face Kurama once again. The look on his face indicated he had only had a revelation hitting him hard in the cheek.

"Hiei knows, doesn't he?" he asked, despite already suspecting what the answer would be. He received a nod in return. "So let me get this straight, it's okay for him to know, but not for us to be made aware? I know we're not close enough, you and I, for you to let out your best-kept secrets, but aren't Yusuke and Kuwabara…" he trailed off as the fox shook his head, his red hair swaying from side to side following his actions.

"The risk of getting too many people involved is too high," Kurama chided softly as he moved backwards to lie against the headboard, his emeralds studying the prince in a serious manner that meant business. "And besides, though Hiei is the closest thing I could call a best friend, he would not meddle in other's affairs if he's told not to. No, if anything, he knows that he will only get in the way, and will only offer a helping hand merely when I'm hanging on a thread between life and death. The culprit knows this, so he sees Hiei as no threat. Unless the situation gets too out of control, then he will not indulge Hiei in a bloody battle."

Koenma seemed to relax a little, but his body language was still frigid; calm, but frigid. "And how do you know it won't come to that?"

"I believe I can take care of it before it does," Kurama answered with a small smile, watching in silent amusement as the Reikai prince continued to ogle him with slight doubt before shrugging off a shoulder.

"I suppose this time I'll have to put my faith in you," Koenma murmured, before snorting out in discomfort at the prospect of having to be kept out of the way in this whole ordeal. But, he knew better than to stick his nose into the fox's business. "Besides, I believe you will hold your end of the deal. If the situation gets too serious, then be rest assured that I'll have everyone running to your rescue in a matter of minutes."

"I promise I'll inform you if it does get out of control," Kurama said with a slight nod of his head, though he doubted any of the worst-case scenarios he'd been coming up in his head everyday would grant him any chance to communicate with the others. If worse came to worse, he could die. Or it could mean the end for both him and Kageyama. But, if he could change into his demon side… I know I can do that. That's been proven already… since last night. Brewing irritation rose within him as he recalled his control slipping to the point he had involuntarily let Youko take over. He remembered her moans, the way she clung to the silver-haired part of him and how the demon had chose to mate with her. Youko had got to her first and something about that just didn't seem to sit well with him, but he quickly squashed that thought. What am I doing, being jealous of myself? How utterly foolish. But, foolish was what he was, and he still was envious. This feeling would no doubt fade over time, perhaps even sooner than he expected as the logical part of his brain persuaded him not to put too much thought over it, but right now, he was consumed by it, even as he tried to ignore it as Koenma uttered a few last words towards him.

"Tell Botan I'll be expecting a report from her as soon as she wakes up," Koenma had told him, but Kurama couldn't respond, the whirlwind of negative emotions taking residence in his heart stealing him of his capability for speech as he merely nodded his head in return.

And with a flick of his red cape, the prince was gone.

"Kurama? Ngh… What time is it?" A low, groaning voice resonated in the room, disrupting the calm silence in the air.

The redhead blinked and looked up from the book he was reading as he fixated his gaze on the now awake ferry girl. Botan rubbed a fist at her right eye as she sat up on the bed, blinking with half-awake eyelashes to clear the blurriness away from her vision. A smile instantly pulled up at the edge of his lips.

"12, noon," he answered simply, before folding a small partial of the piece of paper stuck on the book so as to remember where he left off, and shutting the reading material close with a soft, thudding sound. "You slept in. Koenma expects a report from you soon."

Botan grumbled something incoherent under her breath, before lifting her arms up to stretch, unaware of the effect she had on him as her chest leaned forward following her actions. She had a dream; a very pleasant dream. Something about a meadow. Lilies and sunflowers. But, she couldn't remember the rest, try as she might to chase after the remnants of the dream which were so rapidly fading away. She returned his smile with her own as she turned to look at him.

"Oh, well, I'm already done with it so that only leaves with sending it in." Her smile took on a more playful approach as she noticed him blinking his eyes, almost as if snapping out of a trance as the glimmer in the emeralds returned. "I can do that a bit later," she added as she tucked a hand under his arm, lying her head on his strong shoulder as she drew closer.

Kurama felt his lust cooling down as he felt her lovingly trace lazy cirlces on the back of his hand with her other one, affections surfacing as he tilted his head slightly to the side and leaned down to plant a featherlike kiss on her blue mane.

"Are you sure?" His voice was a tad bit muffled as he nuzzled his nose into the locks of azure, nostrils flaring as he took a whiff of her soothing, vanilla scent. "You're already behind the schedule, you know."

He pulled apart as the girl removed herself from his shoulder to turn her head up and pinned a slightly exasperated stare on his smiling face. Her eyes narrowed as she threw him an accusing look. "You're not going to give me that old man talk you always give Yusuke and Kuwabara, are you?" At the subtle broadening of the quirk on his lips, she expelled a loud, half whine and half groan. "Oh, please don't."

A laugh finally left his lips- she seemed so adorable as she sat there, beautiful pools of amethyst glaring daggers at him as the bottom half of her mouth was tugged out to form an endearingly childish pout. His laughter soon diminished though, reduced to a cheeky grin as her fingers went to his stomach and pinched slightly at his skin in silent warning. Reaching a hand up, the fox tenderly patted her head, his grin transforming into a soft smile as Botan blushed before casting her gaze down to her lap. He was well aware that she hated it when people patted her; she had told him before that it made her feel like a kid, or someone's pet animal. But, the fact she allowed only him to do it anyway made his heart swell with joy.

"Alright, I won't," he relented, hand falling down to the side of his hip as he eyed the girl peer up at him with a wide smile, the pink tinge colouring her cheeks the only remnant of her blush. "But, are you certain he won't throw a fit if he finds out you're deliberately staying here when you're supposed to report to him?"

She shook her head, her smile evolving into a reassuring one as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. "It's fine," she told him, before moving into his lap and clasping her thighs around his hips. "I'll just pretend I've been sleeping for the next thirty minutes. He'll be crossed, sure, but at least I know I'll get off the hook." She grinned, knowing that she was being devious. It wasn't as if she was purposely trying to avoid her duties- no. She loved ferrying souls, comforting them before guiding them to where they rightfully belong- but paperwork and reports were different stories altogether. She hated being behind the desk most of the time, loathed to be kept in Reikai for so long. She preferred flying on her oar, feeling the cold, gust of wind as adrenalines overtook her.

"Hmm." Kurama's own lips quirked into a grin that matched the mischievous one she was sporting as he tried to ignore the feel of her plump ass pressing against his thighs. "Naughty girl," he murmured as he permitted his hands to travel to her small back, running tiny, teasing circles on the smooth flesh.

Botan sighed in content as she allowed his little ministrations to surround her, before widening her grin and leaning forward to claim his lips in a brief, chaste kiss. "You love that about me," she retorted, her hot breath fanning over his mouth as she pulled away an inch to look at him in the eyes, hers filled with amusement whilst his were bordering on predatory.

"Indeed, I do," he whispered, before shaking his head as he lightly chastised himself not to be so easily swept by her teasing game. He reached from behind her to an average-sized bowl with green, murky substance in it before presenting it to her. Botan blinked. "Would you like this soup?" he asked, as he cocked his head to the side at her. "It is not exactly up to my favor."

The deity proceeded to blink a couple of more times before allowing a knowing smile to cross her pink, honey-dew lips. Always asserting control, she mused to herself at his refusal to be pulled into what would have been a hot make-out session, followed by a string of moans and growls as he pushed her down to the bed and pounded into her. But, she decided not to let her own desires get the better of her judgement this time- she knew better. He was doing this for her own good. He wouldn't want to get her into trouble with Koenma, after all. Seeing as the report was due this morning.

She stifled a groan as she planted a peck on his nose before pulling out of his lap. A flicker of disappointment- that was all, then he quickly slipped the stoic, impenetrable mask back to place. "Oh, hush," she finally replied as she got off the bed and bent down to retrieve her clothes. She slid her shirt on, then whirled around to face him. "You don't like any food from Reikai."

There was a pause. The redhead seemed to be considering something as he stared down into the bowl and at what looked to hold a striking resemblance to a mixture of chewed food instead of actual soup. He then looked up at her, mouth tugged down into a single thin line as his brows furrowed slightly into a small frown.

"I miss human food," he blurted out, Botan laughing as she watched him pull a cute expression that mingled with discomfort.

"I'll get them for you if you want," she offered as her laughter disappeared into thin air. Kurama blinked, gaze casting down to her legs as she glided her underwear up her calves, then to her thighs, before he focused it on her face.

"Really? Aren't you too… busy? To go to Ningenkai?" he inquired slowly, before he put away the bowl of what was a sad excuse for soup.

"Well, yeah," she paused momentarily, "but, I can get Koenma to allow me a short detour, I think." Her features soon brightened up into a jovial grin as she delivered a playful wink at the fox's way. "Expect a grand amount of junk food and sweets on your plate this evening!"

A short chortle escaped his lips. "Thank you, you're a lifesaver." He tried not to stare as she zipped up her skirt. "I've been growing tired of Reikai's hospital food. As if its food under normal circumstances aren't already awful enough…" he grumbled, his annoyance quickly gone in the instant a giggle rumbled from her throat.

"Shh," She placed a finger to her lips as she heard footsteps outside the door, waiting for the sound to subside before it gradually disappeared, "keep it to yourself. Someone will hear."

Kurama heard Youko grunt somewhere in the recesses of his mind, muttering something about not giving a damn about what reigens thought of him before the redhead soon shook his hair, dismissing the demon's rant. "How do you withstand it?" he asked Botan instead.

She gave out a light shrug. "Well, I've been devouring it for most of my life, so yeah, it's kinda normal to me by now. Though I did vomit on the very first day of being a ferry girl."

A delicate red eyebrow quirked at her in curious interest. "You were human before, weren't you?" He'd heard of Reikai erasing memories of new grim reapers, but never had he had the time to actually look it up and confirm if it was true. Perhaps his lover could give him an answer. He'd wanted to ask her before, but was afraid that he'd be getting too much in her personal space. Circumstances had changed though, and so did their relationship.

"Yeah," A bitter smile curved at the corners of her mouth, "but, I don't exactly remember my past, you know? All of it is just a big blurry mess in this big lump I call my brain," she replied as she pointed a finger to her head for emphasis. Kurama seemed to frown, before his features took on a more thoughtful look, as if he was trying to let the information sink in. He'd suspected it before… but Botan's words were enough to confirm his suspicions. He snapped out of his thoughts as her voice reverberated in his ears again. "It's Reikai's standard procedure actually, the memory-erasing and stuff. It's believed that a ferry girl could get tied down to her former life, so it's sort of understandable, to be honest. Grim reapers don't need distractions, after all."

"And… aren't you curious?"

"Hmm, well, I'd be lying if I said I've never thought of it before. My past, I mean. But, well, I love who I am right now." The grimness in the quirk of her lips disappeared, taking its place was genuine happiness as her features brightened once more into a bright grin. "Plus, I have our friends… and you, now. And that's already more than I could ever wish for."

Kurama's eyes grew wide at her words, before slowly reverting to their original size. He studied her, scrutinized her in a way that made her realize he wasn't even looking at her… but through her. It was almost as if he was trying to stare into her soul, seeking for the lie, his own countenance sporting a tender smile as he realized she meant every syllable.

"Come here," His voice was soft as he extended an arm towards her. Botan blinked, but did as she was told, sauntering up to him. A startled cry left her lips as he all but abruptly tugged at her waist, pulling her down once more into his lap. A moment passed before the girl got over her surprise and shot him a questioning stare. He merely smiled, before leaning down to kiss her squarely on the lips. "Such a horrendous job for a kind heart like yours," he mumbled against her mouth, before breaking off the lip-lock, "and you're not even grim. Is it even a wonder I love you so much?" His pools of green danced in mirth, the mischief in them unmistakable as he watched her blush before letting out a small huff.

"Ha-ha." She poked at his ribcage, resisting a smile as he feigned a wince in return. "You have a way with words, buster, I'll give you that."

He faked rubbing the 'sore' spot where she'd stabbed a finger at him as he gave her a toothy grin. "Yes, well, I do take pride in my ability to charm people with sweet sentences."

"Sure." Her response was followed with the adding of her eyes narrowing at him in slight doubt. "But, don't use those sweet sentences with other women but me, or you're dead, got that?" she half growled, voice threatening and firm.

His grin turned mischievous… predatory even. "My," he chuckled, "getting possessive, aren't we?"

A groan. "Kurama!"

He laughed at the exasperated cry of his name, but pulled her close as he placed a soft peck on her forehead. "Okay, okay," he murmured, "You know I don't even need to promise," he went on, but his voice was reassuring, "I won't even think of it. All I need is you."

Botan's cheeks flushed slight red at his words, and she didn't try to break free as he bent down to possess her lips in a tender yet demanding kiss. She sighed, before shaking her head. "Again," She deepened the lip-lock, wrapping her arms around his head as she darted her tongue out to lick at his bottom lip, "way with words."

"Don't praise me too much. I'm vain," he kidded playfully before pulling back as she tried to drive her tongue into his mouth. Botan pouted, but he merely gave her a patient smile. "You should go," he told her, "before one of us takes this too far."

She bit at the lower part of her mouth- part of her wanted to just kiss the breath out of the fox so that he would realize that she wanted nothing more than to give in, but another part of her recalled the report she was supposed to hand in and she quickly squashed that thought, swearing to herself that there was more time for them to release their desires before she reluctantly pulled out of his lap, Kurama letting her go almost all too hesitantly.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" she told him just as she walked to the door and her hand hovered just about an inch from the knob. She sent him a charming smile. "Don't wait up for me."

There was love in his eyes. "You know I will anyway."

Her smile seemed to broaden. "I know," she whispered.