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 straight at her 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.
A/N: First of all, before you guys continue reading, I want to apologize for disappearing for such a long time. I haven't been updating anything for well over a year, but I've been very preoccupied with life. I've been too busy with my real life work to focus on writing fanfics, other than the fact that I've been suffering from chronic stress. It's been hard for me to do anything, but I'm slowly getting better now which is why I'm trying to get into writing again. I realize that my writing style may appear different or odd to my readers, considering I haven't been writing at all since I've last updated. I'll try to update my other stories at a time for sure, but I hope for your guys' understanding that I'm in the process of resharpening my rusty writing skills, and after well over a year, my mind hasn't been all that active so newer updates might appear more boring compared to old ones. But I don't want to disappoint my readers, so I'll try my best. :)
Chapter 36: Haircut
Emerald irises continued to ogle at the view in front of him with bewildered curiosity, before the look dissipated, taking its place was mirth as he pursed his lips to prevent himself from laughing.
Botan stood outside his window, blue tresses dreadfully sliced in an oddly humorous manner as the hem of her hair formed a v-shaped line instead of a vertical one. The bangs that once fell slightly over her eyebrows long gone as they, too, suffered the misfortune of being cut too short, exposing her forehead.
"Excuse me for asking, lover," Kurama began as he slid the windowsill upwards to grant her access into his room, to which the ferry girl swiftly flew inside as if afraid to be seen by others. In spite of being visibly embarrassed, Botan landed on the floor with a graceful, soft thud as her oar disappeared into thin air, "but would you mind explaining what could have occurred?" he asked her, shoving down the fit of chuckles that threatened to erupt from his throat as he studied her restless form.
Tears could be seen peeking through the back of her eyes as the pink tinge coloring her cheeks darkened in shade by a hundredfold. Kurama couldn't help but permit himself a moment to adore the childish display as he found it endearing and cute.
"Um, I wanted to cut my hair," she declared, voice low and deeply laced with shame.
Seeing her so uncomfortable with her current predicament, the fox could no longer find the situation to be the least bit comical- okay, maybe a little bit, but still.
"Why didn't you just go to a hair salon?" he questioned with amusement dancing in his pools of green as Botan's lower lip jutted out in a way that he was used to seeing whenever she was too self-conscious to give out an elaboration in fear of embarrassing herself.
"Well," Botan's hand reached upwards so that her index finger could twirl around the tendrils of her now no longer beautiful sky blue mane, "I thought I could do it myself, you know."
He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help but tease her. "My dear, you really should have gotten a professional's help for something like this."
Angelic features contorted into a toddler-like look, as blue brows creased to form a deep frown and pink, honey-dew lips formed a thin line of displeasure. Really, why did he have to rub it in her face? "I know that, okay? But I just wanted to try it out myself."
Of course Reikai had prepared a hair salon that was exclusive for women, SDF members or ferry girls alike, but Botan wasn't really fond of the employees over there. There was never an event where she had ever acquired their service but there were a few times when she had entered the premise with her fellow colleagues and those experiences were more than awful enough for her to not want to step foot into that place again. She just didn't like how the females working there would send her weird glances and hated the hushed whispering around her. She knew better than to let it get to her, but it still shot a pang of pain through her heart because she knew they were talking about her.
Kurama's expression was unreadable as his eyes started to search through her, but a look of understanding crossed his visage and though she hadn't explained anything, she knew he got the gist of what happened. If her tense aura radiating waves of uneasiness didn't give away, the sorrow he could sense through her body language certainly did.
The fox heaved a gentle sigh; he knew the source of their gossip: him. He was used to being the talk in Spirit World, but it must have had a larger effect on Botan, considering she was a resident there and had to deal with it on a daily basis, compared to him who only had the misfortune of being treated in such a manner during his visits to Reikai. Botan was the strongest, kind woman he had ever known, but even she had her moments.
"Sit down." He ushered towards the swiveling chair, one callous hand extending to grab at the leather material before pushing the chair towards her. Botan blinked, but proceeded to follow along.
"I'll help."
A smile teased at the corners of her lips. "So you're a hair stylist now?" Voice beaming with energy and amethyst eyes dancing in high spirits, the sullen expression from before seemed to quickly fade away and the redhead was more than glad.
"Hush now," Kurama responded as he whirled her around to face the mirror situated conveniently next to his desk. The girlish giggle that he earned from his lover in return caused a tender, loving smile to curve on his mouth. "I've watched tutorials on how to do a splendid haircut countless times before so you need not concern yourself."
Botan's eyes fluttered close for a moment as he reached around her to deliver a playful poke of his index finger on the contour of her nose, before flying open again as he pulled away.
"You never told me this," she declared abruptly, somewhat disappointed to find that her boyfriend was still keeping secrets from her. She could have sworn she knew everything there was to know about him.
He caught a glimpse of the minimal dismay in the brief movement of her frown deepening ever so slightly before she collected herself and schooled her features almost as instantly as the look had crossed her face. He couldn't help but smile at the notion that she thought she could hide anything from him even though she knew his eyes were a mili second faster than her slipping back on her poker face, but more at how adorable she still looked pouting over something so small.
"Trust me." He took ahold of her hair and pulled it back behind her shoulders so as to make the task at hand a lot easier. "It wasn't as if I was trying to keep it a secret from you, I just reckoned it wasn't important enough to mention." Languidly, the fox took the opportunity to slide his fingers through the silky strands of her blue mane, before he leaned forward to grab the scissors from the bottom drawers of his wooden desk. "Besides, you never asked."
"But we tell each other everything," Botan insisted, tone obviously voicing out her need for sulking.
She shot what seemed to be a vehement glare at the tall figure of Kurama looming behind her through the reflection of the mirror, scowl visibly intensifying as the half-demon merely regarded with mild hilarity. He always, always had to make fun of her, didn't he?
Kurama felt the strong urge to bully her even more, but held himself back so that he could focus on assisting her in solving her current problem. He really liked making her pout, the way her visage would express her child-like disapproval was simply unbelievably lovable to him. Plus, being a fox demon meant that playfulness was almost like second nature to him, but he would only lavish such affection on his closest friends and cherished lover.
"Alright, I'm sorry. You don't have to pout anymore," His voice was gentle yet accompanied by a soft burst of laughter as he leaned down to deliver a featherlike kiss on her now bare forehead, hands at either side of her head in a firm, yet tender hold. "I'll fix it up for you, okay? You only need to sit there and be all pretty for me."
Despite knowing better not to fall for his smooth words, Botan found it difficult to keep her brooding act for too long when he whispered the words over her ear. He knew what effect it had on her, she knew he knew, and she could have sworn she saw his lips tugged into a self-satisfied smirk as, per to his predictions, she quite basically melted under his hands.
"I hate you," she murmured, but the words lacked the venom she wanted as her skin heated up once more to give way for another dark, crimson hue that was supposed to be a blush.
The smirk on his face widened just a little. "You know you don't," he spoke all too knowingly and reveled in the way the girl glared cutely at him, despite the obvious scarlet tinge coloring her cheeks.
Silence hung in the air for a moment as Kurama eventually proceeded to rescue what was left of her hair- though it was sometimes broken by him finding a way to poke fun at her and laughing at her expense when she would get visibly but not literally upset. A few snips here and there, and it took him a mere five minutes to finish his handiwork. He pulled apart slightly to study the byproduct of his hair stylist skills and found that he was quite pleased with himself.
Botan scrutinized her appearance through the shining reflection of the mirror, noting the soft curls at the hem of her now short hair, reaching only slightly over her shoulders. The bangs that had been snipped at an amount that was considerably a lot more than needed was pulled back by a scarf to make her look a little bit more stylish. She almost couldn't believe that he managed to give her a fairly- well, actually more than that- decent haircut on his first attempt. But knew that it was damn near possible for the fox to accomplish such an achievement considering how easy it is to master everything.
He's too perfect. She thought but smiled as Kurama openly admired her new appearance, almost seemingly to gush over how charming she looked. He never bothered to try his appreciation of her after all.
"Do you like it?"
"Mm-hm." A coquettish chortle leaving her lips as Kurama inched closer to nuzzle the tip of his nose against the plump mound of her cheek. "I like it a lot. I didn't really plan on cutting it this short but I didn't think it would look this good."
Squealing in delight as the fox promptly spun the chair around so that she was facing him, Botan couldn't help the startled laugh that rumbled through her chest as his hands fell to the back of her knees before hoisting her up in the air, Kurama instantaneously smashing their lips together into a brief yet demanding kiss before breaking it off as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
"Mm," he hummed in slight glee as she gave him butterfly like pecks here and there all over his face- on his forehead, both his cheeks, then his nose and chin. "I think you can pull off any kind of hair style, my dear peony. You're too adorable after all."
"Oh, hush, you," Botan replied with a gentle tone in her voice, the love underlying beneath as clear as crystal as her pools of amethyst glimmered at him in a way that could only be described as pure, raw affection. "That's only because you did a good job."
"Well, this is the first time I've seen you with a different look, so I'm still a little bit caught off guard by how pretty you look."
"Hm. At least you don't have to complain about my hair tickling you in your sleep anymore," she teased good-naturedly, responding with equal fervor as he kissed her again.
"I only said that as a joke," Kurama uttered in between the heated lip-lock as he reached for the back of her neck, pulling her impossibly closer. "You always use my words against me." His hands rubbed the small of her back before traveling lower to cup the curve of her hips. "But you might as well repay me for my good deed."
"Oh?" Botan threw her head back as she stared back at the fox, now sporting a seductive grin, with one of her own, except hers was cheeky. "So you didn't do it without wanting anything in return. How awful of you to ask such a thing even from your own lover."
"Call it equivalent exchange," he remarked before giving an experimental squeeze on her butt, hoping that she would get the message. Botan understood, of course, but had a different idea altogether.
"Or I could cut your hair for you, then it'd be fair."
Kurama's usually handsome face grew taut and that was more than enough for the ferry girl to know that he wanted no part in it. She laughed at how obviously against the prospect he was, but the delightful sounds died down soon after, replaced with a startled gasp as she felt one of his hands disappear into her shirt. She received a playful roll of his eyes before he went on to claim her lips again, nearly smothering her with the intensity of the kiss.
"Unfortunately for you, sweetie, but the price for my services is up for me to decide."
