Where it all Started

Author: The Freak - Freak Moister
Warnings: This story contains yaoi PG - 13 for now.
Disclaimer: All Yu Yu Hakusho characters belong to Yoshihiro Togashi
Also the throne name "Dragon Throne" and territory name "Alaric" belongs to Mina Lightstar
Summary: All great journeys begin with the first step; well here it is my first step in this hopefully interesting expanded series of YYH. See it as YYH book 3 if you want. As the three worlds settle down for a long time in several hundreds of years, new mysterious happenings around the Makai bring about unrest in the Reikai and Makai. Is this just another ambitious lord who wishes the impossible or something more sinister that no one has yet suspect. As the dark menace slowly spreads it's cruel fingers and the people of the three worlds slowly being lured into its grasp can anyone stop it's unrelenting stride or will the darkness once again spread it's poison into the hard won peace.

Botan sighed as she dropped another oar load of souls off at the Reikai 'soul processing' unit. Sitting heavily down on the closest bench Botan watched the usual bustle of the busy Reikai palace, in the air ferry girls rush back and forwards in flurries of colorful kimonos through the high arch of the ancient palaces' grand door way. On the ground onis rushed here and there weaving through the masses of desks, arms loaded with documents and an assortment of things each seemly having their own purpose and intent as they passed it from one desk to another. A group of ferry girls had lined up beside one of these desks no doubt receiving their next batch of souls to pick up. Botan watched with an odd sort of sordid humor, these souls they picked up had meant so much to people around them when they were alive but when you're in Reikai you're just another job that needed to be completed. I need a break, concluded Botan, when ferry girls start thinking as she just did they needed one.

Patting her light blue kimono, Botan stood up with a huff and leveled her oar beside her like a weapon and marched with confident step towards the half closed double door to Koenma's office at the back of the grand hall (of desks). Stopping before the doors Botan made one last check on her dress before knocking and entered the spacious office that's not so spacious because of all the documents that are stacked up around the room in paper towers.

The office is large with a ceiling to floor window on the right side and a fireplace on the left. Several new tapestries cover the other walls while deep green curtains pull aside framed the large glass right wall. It's possible to see the palace gardens from the window, the room being actually several floors off the ground and further out the sprawling metropolis of Reikai 'Godsvill' (god's village). The sky outside is much like Ningenkai's, though slightly flushed with the setting sun, and highlights on the fluffy clouds created a happy scene out of a child's' story book. The office is relatively deep with a giant painting of some obscure Reikai landscape on the back wall.

Before the wall sat a squashed desk. It was a huge thing, leather bound and polished. An equally squashed chair was behind it on which sat a toddler who was currently furiously slamming the Reikai Royal stamp on some very important diplomatic paper and throwing them on the 'Out' pile. The toddler didn't bother looking up from his work as Botan slipped quietly into the office and walked to the desk to stand with her hands on the hip and paste determined look on her lovely oval face.

"Koenma-sama I need to speak with you...NOW." came the calm voice of Botan, as it drifted into Koenma's ears it sounded vaguely close, too close. Looking up, he nearly screamed if it wasn't for that moment he slipped off his chair.

Botan was annoyed because she wanted to laugh, but she couldn't because that would have adverse affects on her bargaining for a holiday. Clamping down her mouth Botan waited patiently for Koenma to climb up on his chair. The toddler was having trouble reaching the seat of the chair, and it would have been amusing if Botan didn't have other things on her mind that demanded that little prince's attention.

"Koenma-sama, I need to speak with you..." Botan rounded the desk and watched as her tiny employer tried unsuccessfully to lever himself onto the chair, sat down on the ground and looked at her ...finally... Botan thought.

"Can it wait until I get back on my chair?" Koenma whined and tired again to lever himself up.

"No." was the rather short, clipped reply that was accompanied by a rather loud stomp of the oar on the floor. Koenma groaned and dusted himself before concentrating to change forms. He didn't like talking to Botan in his toddler form for the simple reason that Botan looks very tall and menacing. Not that there's any difference now that he's in his teenager form, except maybe Botan wasn't that tall.

"All right what is it?"

"I want a holiday. A long one, with not disruptions, and I want holiday pay. Lastly I want it now." That list wasn't a question it was more of a demand.

Koenma looked at Botan and sighed, "Botan you know we're short on ferry girls now, can't you wai..."

"Absolutely not! I've worked non-stop for the last 40 years and I need some time off!" Taking a stop towards Koenma and staring straight into the young God's eyes, "I'm getting my holiday and I'm getting it now!"

Koenma couldn't concentrate on what Botan said all he could see is the lovely shade of pink that is Botan's eyes and the way they flashed when she glared was like stars dancing in the night sky. The nearness and warmth radiating off her spiritual body and the sweet perfume wafting under his nose.

...Glaring...she's glaring...that thought registered slowly with Koenma, wait, why is she glaring? Koenma sobered, blinked and realized that he didn't hear what she had just said. "Ugh..." making a guess, "...How long did you say you wanted your holiday to be?" He had vaguely remember hearing a number.

Surprised, Botan's eyes lit up and a wide grin broke on her face and threatened to split it. She didn't realize that Koenma would so easily agree to let her go on a holiday. I mean she knew that it was a busy time of the year and ferry girls were short but...she was just happy.

"Oh three weeks would be fine Koenma-sama!"

Again Koenma didn't pay attention to Botan's words but stared rather stupidly at Botan's eyes, they were smiling and the stars were dancing rather quickly now. She's happy...I wonder why...then Botan's mouth moved, ah...she said something, what did she say? Not wanting to seem inattentive, he made another guess and said, "Sure Botan."

Botan blinked again and gave a little yelp of success, hugged Koenma and skipped pass the prone figure, failing completely to see the dazed look on the young god's face. Koenma on the other had registered that the dancing pink eyes have moved position and turned to follow. The office doors opened then as George stepped in with a pile of paper in his hands and a slight breeze followed him in and picked up a few pieces of paper and tossed it about. Botan turned back and gave Koenma a smile and seeya over her shoulders. The sun chose that moment to shine directly into the office and the bright beams glistening off the watery blue of Botan's hair and accentuated the colors of her kimono. The combined affect of that was to make Botan look like an angle dancing in a forest of floating feathers.

The image abruptly ended when the office doors closed with a bang and the pieces of paper sank mournfully to the ground in every posture of grief. George's face swam into focus and this time Koenma did scream.

Botan skipped out of Koenma's office still feeling a bit high, she never realize that it would have been so easy and now it's the hard part because she had just got herself a three week holiday and she didn't know what to do with it. In actual fact she didn't think that she could have pull through victorious, and didn't made any plans. Checking her watch Botan realized that it's about 4pm already. The thought that struck her next was completely random (as is most of her other thoughts), but it was a good idea so Botan hopped on her oar and flitted off to the Ningenkai.