It's the I've-Got-400-Reviews-Jig! Dance with me!!!!

~*~*~*~*~ Chapter 20 ~*~*~*~*~

There were a great many things Arisu would rather be doing right now. She was forming a list of them in her head. It was getting to be a mighty long list. She'd just reached item number thirty and there was still no sign of the end. It would be rather pointless to list all the items on her list but I'll name a few just so you get the general idea.

At this moment Arisu would rather be:

1) On a beach surrounded by considerably good-looking men

2) Aforementioned men rubbing lotion all over her body

3) Disneyland

4)A Day Spa

5)An all expenses paid trip to Spain

There were twenty five more items and as I said before the list was growing fast. In fact, at this moment she'd just past forty and was working on the goal of fifty. Now if you read through the entire list (That's all forty six items, mind you.) there isn't a single chance you'll find "coming face-to-face with my old boyfriend after I betrayed him."

I'm sure you can imagine why.

As you imagine this you'll also be able to understand why it was a top priority to release herself from the fire demon's grasp and run as far away as humanly possible. But this had just about as much of a likely hood of coming true as being on a beach did.

But you had to admire Arisu's persistence. As well as Hiei's patience. For quite some time Hiei had kept his silence. Pointedly ignoring Arisu's futile escape attempts from his iron grip. But none the less, the koorime's patience only went so far. And Arisu had reached the end of it.

As Arisu had taken to trying to peel Hiei's fingers one by one from her arm, he abruptly snapped and turned on her.

"If you don't stop doing that, I'll turn you around and drag you to Rekai by your ankles!"

Arisu gasped and made an attempt to hide some of her fears with a sort of nervous laughter. The threat did its job though, no more escape attempts were made on Arisu's part.

Up ahead, Yusuke was having a time sorting out his own thoughts. He knew what he had seen. He knew very well the signs. Having experienced quite a lot of them on Keiko's behalf. (A fact he had never admitted to anyone.) But the thought of Kurama and Botan being anything other then just Kurama and Botan was so surreal, so strange, that Yusuke was still unable to grasp it.

But then again, was it really that surreal? They were both single, both attractive, and they were actually around the same age. And their personalities didn't conflict, as a plus. In fact, they meshed together perfectly. He could very easily see the two of them together.

But it was still very strange to think of two of his most trusted friends as an item. No longer just Kurama and Botan but Kurama and Botan.

And what if it went even further? Taken , Botan Minamino had a very nice ring to it, but still...The two of them together? Yusuke was surprised to find how easily he could picture the two them married.

But what if he was wrong about the while thing? What if Kurama had merely wanted revenge on Hakuma and rescuing Botan was just something that came along with the package?

No...

He thought back to the snow beast. How firmly Kurama was set upon carrying Botan. Had he been in love with her even then? And it was the same look of steadfast determination. He'd given it to him twice, once when Kurama had aptly refused Yusuke's offer to carry Botan and then just now, when he'd told him that he was going on alone.

So the signs were all there. The pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly to together.

But there was something that baffled him still. Did Botan return Kurama's feelings? Frankly, he couldn't tell. He didn't know the signs a girl showed when in love. He thought of comparing Botan and Keiko's actions but he simply couldn't do it. He didn't spend enough time with Botan to compare her actions with anyone. The last he'd seen her was at the Christmas party and he'd been to busy arguing with Keiko to notice her.

He wanted to ponder on this sometime but Kuwabara's voice answered the fray of his thoughts, "I'd say that fight was pretty anticlimactic."

Both Hiei and Yusuke looked up, stunned. They hadn't been aware he knew such a long word.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked after recovering from the initial shock.

Kuwabara scratched his head thoughtfully, "Well, I mean we went all the way out to the Makai and all we got to do when we got there was find our way through a stupid maze then take this chick to Rekai." He pointed at Arisu, who was glaring at him, irately. She didn't much appreciate being called a "chick."

"And what was with Kurama anyway?" Kuwabara continued on, not noticing, "I mean why did he want to take care of Hakuma so bad?"

Hiei shook his head disbelievingly, "You really are dense, aren't you?"

Kuwabara was awoken from his thoughtfully state abruptly and he turned on Hiei, "Hey! What did you say?"

Hiei smirked and replied with a witty comeback, "Are you deaf as well as dumb?"

"I am not dumb! Just because I can't tell what's going on in other people's mind doesn't mean I'm not smart, Three-Eyes!" To prove his point he signaled toward his forehead, showing he had no Jagan eye, like certain people.

Hiei blinked, Kuwabara had a point. God, help us. Kuwabara had a point. So he quickly diverted the subject so the not-so-bright teen wouldn't get a chance to grasp that.

"We're here," Hiei said gruffly.

Indeed, somehow during the argument they'd arrived at the doors to Koenma's office.

Arisu stared at the doors. A deep seated dread stirring in her stomach.

Koenma...

~*~*~*~*~

Kurama turned the door knob and entered the adjoining room.

It was a staircase.

Kurama didn't hesitate in climbing the stairs. He merely bolted up them, reaching an unfeasible speed. There was no time to lose. The screams, though he had imagined them, seemed so real. They echoed continuously through his mind. The fuel driving him onward and upward. To incomprehensible obstacles and staggering odds.

The screams fueled him. But it wasn't the screams themselves. It was the care. The deep, and profound care he felt for Botan and her well-being. He cared if she was in danger. He cared if something happened to her. He cared that she was alright. And if need be, he'd do anything to make sure she was well. No matter the cost. All this because he cared about her.

The stair case ended and it brought him to a corridor. The corridor was large and impressive. The walls sparkled with ice and diamonds. White banners clung to the walls. At the end of the hallway was a pair of double doors. Large majestic doors, they rivaled the ones at the entrance. The towered over the corridor, imposing their magnitude upon Kurama.

It assured him of what was behind the doors. There was no doubt. He knew the vanity Hakuma possessed would instigate him to display his importance with the grandeur of these double doors. He conquered the length of the room in a quick sprint and was at the doors, a hand gripping the door knob.

It was care that made him turn the door knob. It was care that made him fling the door open.

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Yusuke turned the door knob to an equally impressive door. The minute the door opened they group was hit with a tremendous wave of sound. Bombardments of babbling ogres hit their ears.

They walked in and entered the throng of workers. The ogres didn't so much as notice them. One particular one crashed into Kuwabara nearly sending him to the floor and he merely raced on, without even muttering an apology.

"Uhg..." Kuwabara muttered after regaining his balance, "I hate coming here."

Yusuke just narrowly missed being knocked down by an ogre carrying a stack of papers. Yusuke would have to agree. He had better things to do then be bulldozed down by a bunch of busy ogres.

A very familiar voice presented itself to the group's ear. It seemed strange that a single voice could be distinguished from the multitude. Even so, it was as clear as a bell.

"Ogre! How dare you eat the last muffin!"

And the second voice wasn't quite as distinct, "Sorry, Koenma-sama."

They didn't need directions to find where the voice had come from. For the first voice suddenly raised an octave and was even clearer to be heard. The first voice proceeded to threaten to dock the second voice's pay and the second voice pleaded that the first voice would forgive him and that he'd go to the bakery at this very moment and have the baker whip up a fresh batch of muffins. The first voice was satisfied.

"Okay, but make sure they're blueberry muffins," said Koenma with a wave of his hand to dismiss the groveling ogre.

"O, thank you! You won't be sorry!" And with that George bowed deeply and scampered off to the bakery to fulfill his promise.

It was then that the toddler happened to notice Yusuke. He either didn't see the others or chose not to acknowledge their presence.

"Oh, Yusuke. What are you doing back so soon?" It was odd to see a toddler take such an authoritative tone. But this was the prince of the Rekai after all.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders, "Kurama decided he wanted to take care of Hakuma himself. So we came back here. We got his sister though."

He jabbed his thumb behind him, where a very livid Hiei was holding a very pale Arisu.

For a brief moment Koenma and Arisu's eyes met. Arisu swallowed as he stared out her. She half expected him to yell at her. To reprimand her for all the horrible things she'd done. To bombard her with questions she could never in a million years answer. And at the head of all these questions the dreaded, "why did you leave me?" But Koenma didn't do any of those things.

"Very good, Yusuke. OGRES!" Koenma hollered and immediately two green ogres stood at attention.

"Yes, Koenma-sama!" They cried in unison.

"Take her away." He pointed at Arisu. The two ogres grabbed Arisu by each arm and pulled her toward an adjoining door. Arisu didn't struggle this time. She merely hung her head with defeat and let them take her. The last thing she did was look over her shoulder at Koenma. Her eyes were filled with everything she'd ever wanted to say to him since her betrayal. Such an imploring look, filled with sorrow, sympathy, remorse, and shame. She wanted his forgiveness. That's what her eyes communicated. They told him that he could turn her away, do with her what he will, but to please tell her that she was forgiven. Clear her conscience.

Koenma made a point to look away.

~*~*~*~*~

A very happy person- I got your review! And here are your answers!

1) What would happen if a vital character died or was given a new form?

Well, first you'd hope to God he or she wasn't too vital or you'd never be able to end the blasted thing! Well, you'd be able to end it but not with a very happy ending. Character death is a thing I've never really liked. Mostly because no matter what character you kill you're going to have disappointed fans. If one did die, you'd have to have a chapter dedicated to the mourning of the poor soul. Maybe let the other characters grieve a while. But not too long. Though grieving is all well and good its not very exciting. So have the other characters continue but now they have a new fuel for their quest. Revenge.

The second half of the question: Let's say or dead character came back but was suddenly given a brand new form. Let's say our character (Roy) appeared to our adventurers as a cat . Roy would have to be a talking cat, so he could adequately explain his sudden change of species. Now there should be a reasonable reason he became a cat. Not just Roy liked cats the best. The cat should symbolize something. Let's say Roy was pretty crafty. Now the cat makes sense. But how will the other characters react? Simple! First they are shocked. Followed by doubt. But soon Roy will say or do something that proves he is who he is. Then they adjust accordingly.

2)What would happen if the characters went back in time and met themselves before they received powers?

Well, let's see....First they could under no circumstances tell the characters who they are and what they future will bring. Doing so will create a lovely time paradox. In fact to avoid creating any sort of paradox Roy would have to avoid his past counterpart completely. If he does meet himself he should be in disguise. A clever one too. Roy is, after all, trying to fool himself. Now, why are they in the past? Is some evil-doer trying to kill their past selves? Yhen they should stop the evil doer! But do so discreetly. That's why they have masks, dear.

3) What if the characters were sent into an alternate dimension?

Well, first things first. Anyone who gets sent back to an alternate universe wants to get sent back. so their priority is to find out how to get back. But we'll get back to that. First thing is: You're in an alternate universe! Make it crazy!!! Let's say Roy's a cat. Make Alternate Roy a dog! Do we where shoes on our feet? Our alternate selves where shoes on their hands! Our my personal favorite: Good normal characters meet evil alternate characters. Now after Roy defeats his evil alternate self, let him go home. That cat's had a rough day.

4) What if the characters were transported into another show? An anime? A movie?

Being a person who loves examples let's say our Roy was transported into The Lord of the Rings. First we'd have some sort of meeting between Roy & co and Aragorn and his intrepid comrades. First the meeting should be pretty sudden. Let's say Aragorn was walking down the paths of Gondor and wham! Flash of light and Roy comes crashing down on top of him. Roy and Aragorn are, at first, startled. then its time for introductions. Roy, Aragorn. Aragorn, Roy. Now we all know each other, why the heck are they there? A vague explanation alone the lines of, "I have no idea" will suffice. Then we all dedicate the rest of the story to finding a way out of Middle Earth. But in the mean time, wacky hi-jinks! I love those things. Roy can do whatever he wants in this strange new world! He can run of with Arwen, earning him an enemy in Aragorn forever. Or have a rousing conversation with Gimli. The sky is the limit!

5) What if the characters were not human? Demon? Animal?

Well, as stated before Roy is a cat. But let's use a different example. Molly is a demon. Molly has a lot of psychological problems to solve because of this. If she's a demon, why isn't she evil? Which brings a lot of issues into view. But we'll have her deal with those on her own time. She's a demon! She's got powers! She can use them against evil! But how powerful is she? Molly can't be too powerful. Make it real. She can be defeated. That's why you either want a weaker villain or one Molly and Roy must fight together!

And Starfire23 has politely asked me to save Hakuma! Now, this is a democracy. And in a democracy how do we decide anything and everything? We vote!

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That's it for now folks! *grabs Trowa from Meiko M. and runs away.*