Of You, Me, and Us
Summary: "I like you." When those words left her lips, Botan had expected to hear him utter words of apology. After all, she didn't think he felt the same way about her. She didn't expect Kurama looking at her straight in the eyes before leaning closer to kiss her. And although he didn't say anything, one glance at the expression on his face was enough to tell her: she was his now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Chapter 25: Camouflage
"This is, I must say, incredibly ridiculous," Kurama's voice echoed in the large dressing room, tinted with dry humor yet holding a dangerous edge of agitation.
The fox stood, 5'11" ft tall, in front of the 8ft mirror, narrowed emerald orbs shooting daggers at his own reflection. Or more precisely, the attire clinging tightly to his form. Cottons and such had been pushed into his dress and into the annoying bra he was wearing to make it seem as if he were a complete woman with all the curves needed to be a woman. Of course, he had no desire to be something that was a direct contrast to the gender he was born with- if anything, he was absolutely seething with rage over the fact that he was forced to pull such a disgusting, humiliating act. If it were not for the mission, he would have shredded the white, frilly dress he was clathed in the moment Yusuke and Kuwabara had almost all too gleefully brought it into the room with his demon claws. He was tempted to clutch his hands on his teammates' throats and rip them apart from their upper bodies.
It made him wonder what had become of his life.
What got him into this impossible situation? Well, it started with a mission from Koenma- something about a big, fat noble demon who stole an artifact from the prince's vault and how they had to retrieve it before the bratty punk got into trouble with his powerful ruler of a father. Apparently, the demon liked pretty girls- especially redheads- and though that alone would have let him off as a disgusting pervert, he was actually quite strong, which kind of resulted the team to come up with another diversion to distract him while the others would snatch back what was stolen. That diversion, unfortunately, came in the form of Kurama disguising as a whore and trying to flirt with him. Frankly, the fox just harbored an opinion that Koenma deserved to get a thousand spankings for merely putting him through this.
"Aw, shush. You're making it sound like it's the end of the world." Botan was crouched down behind him on a cushy, fluffy red seat, her wide, vibrant amethyst irises studying the various sorts of dresses strewn in a pile of discarded articles of clothing on the round, mahogany table set in front of her. There was a gleam in her eyes, that sort of glint he had seen countless times before whenever she found something that caught her eye.
"It will be if I don't get out of this irritating abomination soon," Kurama grudgingly muttered, before fixing the fitting collar around his neck. Good lord, it was so tight he thought he would lose his life just from being constricted in a tight, sexy dress. His fingers caught the collar between them and continued to tug at it to somehow loosen it for about a few more seconds before he finally decided to stop wasting his time and effort on something that wasn't even worth it. "Remind me again why I have to do this?"
"Oh, Kurama, you're overreacting," his girlfriend lightly chastised him with a stern touch in her voice, though his sensitive hearing senses could almost catch the underlying amusement she tried to conceal. His mouth tugged down into a thin, angry line. Botan then halted admiring the beautiful dresses on the table as she caught the shift of atmosphere in the room, Kurama's Demon Energy spiking in furious, restless waves as she turned to look at him.
"I think you look really cute. And besides, you're the only one we can rely on on this case," she went on, trying to reassure him as she got to her feet and sauntered her way to him.
"Because I'm the only member who looks even remotely close to a female?" the fox spirit stated more than answered, a grunt leaving his throat at the end of his sentence. He continued to glare at his rounded, boyish features as Botan tried- vainly- to tighten the dress further around his waist, his mind coming up with long lines of insults and profanities before he threw them at his own facial appearance. If only he didn't look so much like a girl…
"And you know how much I hate being called cute," he murmured, jutting his lower lip out in a slight pout. He rarely pouted, but he only did that with her, because she wouldn't undermine his masculinity for it- also because she brought out the childish kid side of him.
Despite having chosen to be human, Kurama still couldn't get over how much he preferred the appearance of his demon half better than the body of Shuichi Minamino. He could have sworn the little baby he merged with was supposed to be a girl- why else would he harbor a striking similarity to one? Being Youko was far easier- no one would subject him to constant teasing of him being feminine, nor would anyone question him of his own sex. Enma knew he could only take so much before he snapped and fed everyone who dared to mess with him to his flesh-starving Ojigi plants.
"I thought you said you didn't mind the endearing term when it came from me," Botan responded with a teasing touch in her cheery voice, wrapping her arms around his waist and turning her head a little to deliver a small peck on the area beneath his ear.
Peridot orbs rolled to the side, despite the small smile that outlined thick, full lips. "I wouldn't exactly call it endearing," he countered, before taking her hands in his and pulling her arms away.
A small whine threatened to build in the ferry guide's chest at the lost of contact, but the sound briskly died in her throat as a strong, callous arm reached around her waist and swept her up before whirling her around and backing her against the mirror. In just a few seconds, Kurama had one knee nudged between her legs and hot, open-mouthed kisses trailing from her ear down to her pearl white neck.
A short, girlish giggle erupted from her lips as Kurama brushed his fingers at her sides, the ticklish sensations that followed his actions bringing a smile to form on her mouth and a cheeky grin to outline his, which quickly found solace on her collarbone. Botan's hand disappeared into his hair, her long, tender digits tugging it softly upwards so that the fox would face her before he descended even lower.
"Not even when it came from this lips?" she asked with a cute tilt of her head, an innocent expression on her countenance despite the tip of her rosy nail ghosting over her own lips.
There was a guttural sound that came from the back of her boyfriend's throat before the blue-haired maiden found herself being grabbed by the forearm and pulled closer almost in a harsh manner, her back detaching from the glassy surface of the mirror. She didn't gasp even when he tried to crush her soft, petite figure to the hard contours of his form, keeping her eyes on his as a smile grew to spread over her pink, glossy mouth. One hand glided down to her hip, just as her left thigh hooked around his, their pairs of emeralds and amethysts never breaking their stare down, even as he pushed her once more against the mirror, their distance only a mere hair's breadth away.
Kurama's lips drew closer to hers, but Botan placed her palm on his mouth before it could even come in contact with hers. The fox shot her a slightly irritated stare, to which she responded with an impish quirk of her lips.
"Not until you solve the case," she told him, a small fit of laughter escaping her lips and echoing in the air as a muffled groan was the response she earned. "Until then, you won't be getting the slightest taste of this," she proceeded, tapping a finger on the bottom half of her mouth. "Or any of what's underneath this." She then pointed to the yellow blouse she was adorned in.
His emerald orbs flashed a dangerous glint of gold before he instantly released her, letting her feet drop to the floor as he pulled back from her. He studied her intently, noting to himself to teach her a bit of lesson not to challenge him once he was done with the mission. Oh, yes… I'll definitely be looking forward to that.
A smirk found its way to his lips. Surely, it wouldn't be that difficult. One sway of his hips, a flip of his red hair, and the slimy bastard of a demon who got him into this would fall into destruction. Then, after the case was over, he was going to have his way with his ferry girl. She wouldn't even know what hit her. Although, even if she did, he suspected she would actually relish in what he had planned on doing to her. She was, after all, his mate. No less would be expected.
"Challenge accepted, my dear."