A/N: Yay! New month! New chapter! New insanity! Please enjoy chapter 3!
Botan turned questioningly to Youko. "So, where do you think Cabbit and Jin ended up, anyway?" The teen gave an indifferent shrug. "Who knows? Do you remember which way they went?" Botan scanned the area quickly and pointed left. "That way...I think." "Good a place as any to start," Youko said, adjusting his hold on the unconscious Hiei and strolling off in that direction. The ferry girl gave a sigh of relief. Youko wasn't so bad after all. Now that he wasn't sniping with Hiei anymore, he was downright agreeable. Not to mention, he'd shut off the video camera after Hiei fainted, which was a definite plus. "So," she chirruped cheerfully. "Where are you from?" "Oh, somewhere in Osaka," Youko replied vaguely. "You?" Botan sweatdropped. "Uhhh, not anywhere around here," she smiled nervously. "It's...very far away." Unfortunately, any kinds of pleasantries were interrupted when Hiei suddenly decided to wake up. He tilted his head up and stared sleepily at Botan. "You know I've alwaysh looooooved you, right?" he slurred. Apparently, his alcohol tolerance was even lower than they thought.
"Koenma-sama, help me!" Botan squealed mutely. Hiei tried to lunge forward and grab the ferry girl's beautiful blue hair. Unfortunately he had missed, due to the fact that Youko grabbed him first by the waist and held him upside down. "Now listen up you...you...thing or whatever you are..." Youko said with an arched eyebrow. "You can't keep trying to fondle Botan...it isn't nice." "It isn't?" The fire demon replied, his speech still slurred. "No it isn't. Now if I set you down here will you be a good little...thing...and behave yourself?" Hiei nodded without a fraction of hesitation, obviously he hadn't heard a word that Youko said. It went in one ear and out the other. But the one thing that the koorime did know was that Youko was really starting to get on his last nerve...for no reason at all. "Okay...I'm going to put you down now." The teenager said slowly as he did just that. The only thing that he didn't see coming was the way that Hiei came lunging forward and kicked him in the shins.
"OW!!!" screeched Youko, hopping around on one foot and cursing in every language he knew. Botan cocked her head to the side questioningly. "Uh...Youko? You DO know that 'hola' only means 'hello', right?" ...And several that he didn't. Hiei had decided that he was done getting his revenge, and was currently sitting in a corner enjoying the spectacle with a bag of popcorn. Conveniently, the store in the corner was indeed none other than a popcorn store. Unfortunately, having every kind of popcorn under the sun isn't necessarily a good thing. You see, Hiei had very coincidently grabbed rum-flavored popcorn. Supposedly it was the first bag he could get his hands on. Either that, or he decided permanent intoxication was actually incredibly fun. But in either case, it didn't look like he was going to sober up any time soon. Meanwhile, Botan was beginning to wonder what exactly she had done to deserve this situation. Other than a few harmless practical jokes, she couldn't really think of anything. It was downright unfair.
"I think that we should get flame boy away from the goods before he takes full advantage of this drunk thing..." Youko said as he shut his eyes. "I mean, it's high time that we find a way out of this place. All we've been doing is going around in circles, trying to embarrass the other one!" He instantaneously hid his video camera behind his back, trying to not be the obvious hypocrite. "Well then Youko-kun...We should really find someone that can either take care of Hiei's rather..." She paused and looked down at him. He was trying to lick his elbow. "...his rather...disturbing drunken state. If we can do that, then we'll have a clear head and can probably find a way out of here before I have a panic attack. Oh if only Yuusuke were here right now..." She muttered. "Who's Yuusuke?" The teen boy replied. "Trust me...you don't want to know."
Youko frowned. "I think you're right...I probably don't." He looked back down at Hiei, who had ceased his...interesting activities and was now staring right back at him, still obviously in a drunken stupor. Botan shook her head. "Of all the people to have a low alcohol tolerance," she muttered under her breath. "Geez, didn't the guy ever touch a drop in Makai?" "Maaaaany," slurred Hiei, overhearing her. "Buuuuuuuuut, I guess that they make it stronger here, huh? Y'know, the differ'nt plants and all." Youko cocked an eyebrow. Botan just smiled nervously. "Uhhh, yeah, sure," she agreed cheerfully. "Now let's get going, shall we?" She cocked her head questioningly at the Jaganshi. "You're still coordinated enough to walk, I hope." He giggled insanely. "'Coord'nadiddydid. That's a funny word." She sweatdropped. "Youko, if you would be so kind..." she pleaded, gesturing from the teen to the youkai.
In no time at all, Hiei was draped over Youko's shoulder, still giggling about the word, 'coordinated.' Not a word was said as they continued on; there was bitter silence and the occasional feminine giggle of Hiei that abruptly made its way out of his throat. The adolescent suddenly stopped. "Hey, Botan...do you know that guy?" Youko breathed. It was dark but he could definitely make something out...a masculine silhouette. Youko pointed straight ahead at a man who seemed to be in the nearby craft store. "Youko- kun, I think that we should be on guard. You DO know martial arts, right?" "Relax, babe. I'm pretty tough so don't worry about it," Youko bragged as he brushed the bangs out of his eyes with his free hand. It was dark outside so he couldn't really see who the man was. "Should we just run passed him or should we ask him what he knows? Maybe he could help us escape..." Botan said as she looked around nervously. Since the wasted Jaganshi would prove of no assistance in combat for the time being, she had to rely on ningen wit instead. That wasn't really a strong suit to begin with. "I'll go check..." Youko whispered as he walked up forward and entered the craft store.
The 'courageous' brunette slunk cautiously toward the shadowy figure, holding a recently found pool noodle in his hands (the camera was too precious for that kind of use). He darted in close, tapped the figure on the shoulder, and, when nerves got the best of him, whacked the figure in the back of the head before it could react. CRUNCH. The sound of tearing cardboard could be heard throughout the empty store. Youko sweatdropped and stared down at the (now headless) image of Legolas from the Lord of the Rings. "Whoops...uh, I can pay for that...I think..." Back at the entrance, Botan smacked herself in the head. "I am never getting out of here, am I?" she muttered to herself. "Nope!" Hiei informed her cheerfully. "Corndog?" he added innocently, holding one up to the ferry girl. "No thank you, I really think you've done enough for one day--hey, where on earth did you get that from?" Botan asked him suspiciously. He gave her a cherubic smile (and man, did it look freaky on his face) and shrugged. "Places."
"Forget it man, we're STUCK here until the rats either eat us or until Hiei kills us with his infested corndog!" "Hey! MY corndog!" He snapped back, protectively hugging it. (That lasted for about three seconds when he suddenly took a bite out of it). "Okay...um...think..." Youko said as he paced the floor, keeping his eyes transfixed on the floor. "How 'bout we...burn a hole through the windows or ceiling using this guy's weird powers." Botan huffed. "How 'bout we don't!" She cried out, aware that if they broke anything in Ningenkai, it would be her head on the table. "Okay then..." Youko muttered. "If Jin and Cabbit could get out, then so could we. Um...let's disguise ourselves as something." "Oooh...disguises..." Hiei mused as he looked down at his morbid black outfit. "I wanna have her blouse first..." He continued to babble. Youko arched an eyebrow, knowing that his idea was about to go out the window. "Forget it. I don't want to make you a transvestite. So...um...hey Botan, do YOU have any weird powers that could get us outta here?" Botan jumped in surprise. Uh oh. Great. She was with a stubborn know-it-all teenager...who DID actually look quite cute but that wasn't even the point. "Actually...Youko..." Botan started.
Youko raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes...?" She couldn't believe it. WHY HADN'T SHE THOUGHT OF THIS SOONER?!!! Like, some time before Hiei had gotten wasted right out of his typical personality. But oh well. At least she'd thought of it now. Botan grinned at Youko. "Um...I'll be back in five!" She ran off. Youko stared. "O...kay... That was weird." "Botan's veeeeeeeery veeeeeeeeery weird," Hiei said in a singsong sort of voice. "Aaaaaand, she always waaaaaaas and always will be." The teen just shook his head. "Are you sure it's the alcohol that's doing this to you? Cause this is the strangest reaction to booze I have ever seen in my life." Meanwhile, Botan made sure she was out of earshot and flipped open her Communication Mirror. "Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama, please answer!" The toddler's face flickered on to the screen. "Botan? Is that you? What are you still doing at the mall?! It's past midnight! Didn't that place close by now?" Botan giggled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, Koenma-sama, it was the darndest thing..." The Reikai prince just rolled his eyes and held up a hand. "Please. Spare me." He frowned suddenly, looking anxious. "Hiei hasn't been doing anything...illegal, has he? I mean, you know how he gets, and you actually dragged him to the MALL, of all places." The ferry girl squeaked slightly. "No, he's actually been pretty, um, good. Well, let's just say, errr, well, Hiei's not exactly feeling himself right now, Koenma-sama." Koenma shook his head. "I do not want to know," he stated flatly.
"Well anyway, sir...I was...erm...I mean...we are you know in the mall because...we're kind of stuck here." "STUCK?!" The prince's reaction was something that made Botan jump in fright. "How could you be stuck with a delinquent Jaganshi in a ningen mall after hours? You know Botan, you never cease to amaze me." She laughed nervously. "I...uh...aim to please?" The ferry girl knew that that was lame but still decided to speak with the angry Koenma. "Well now that I've told you, what am I supposed to do? This is SO not good, Koenma-sama!" "Yes you have yourself in quite a pickle but maybe I can be of some assistance. That is...until you provide generous compensation for my heroic little number in return." Botan let her shoulders drop. Koenma really WAS hard to please. "What exactly did you have in mind?" Koenma smirked. "You have to convince Hiei to be my personal slave for a week at most." Botan suddenly felt that a heavy burden was lifted off of her shoulders. With his drunken state in full swing, she could get him to do just about anything! "It's a deal, Koenma-sama."
Koenma raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was easy." The chipper ferry girl grinned. "You have no idea." 'Heh, what Koenma doesn't know won't hurt him, and will get me out of this mall! THANK YOU YOUKO!!!!!' Her eyes went wide. 'Crap. Youko.' She turned back to the communicator, where Koenma thankfully had not yet hung up. "Uhm...Koenma-sama, there's one teeeeeny tiny thing I forgot to mention." He eyed her warily. "Yes, Botan?" "Well, you see, when we got stuck in this mall, we kinda weren't alone, and y'see, there's this boy here with us--" "Oh, no you don't," Koenma warned, shaking his head. "You know our policy about mortals finding out about Reikai! Does this guy even have a sixth sense?!" "Kindasortanotreally," Botan muttered. Koenma's eyes narrowed. "Botan, I'm sorry. You know the rules." "But--but, the snow! And the mall! And the snow!!!! We can't just leave him here! He'll go insane! And if there's one thing I know, it's that Reikai's got enough loonies to deal with. Pleeeeease Koenma-sama? I'll do anything PLUS the thing with Hiei!" The Reikai prince frowned in thought. "Well...I guess we could...after all, Hiei could just use his Jagan and make the kid forget everything. But the bit about Hiei still goes." "Not a problem, sir!" Botan announced cheerfully, giving him a salute and flipping off the communicator. She stood up, in a much better mood than she had started out in. 'Now...let's just hope that alcohol hasn't worn off yet!'
"GET OFF ME!" Youko screamed. He was, at the moment, having a veeery difficult time keeping the fire demon under control. Hiei was actually trying to climb up Youko's shoulders for some random reason. "Botan! Help!!" He shrieked again, not knowing if he could take the Jaganshi's rather interesting behavior for much longer. She came back as fast as she could as soon as she heard Youko's desperate plea for assistance. "Hiei! Stop that!" Botan cried as she crossed her arms. "Botan!" He purred happily, lunging for her instead. She rolled her eyes and hardly expected the koorime to knock her over and fall into her lap. "You're preeeeettyyyyyyyy..." He slurred. The alcohol had not worn off in the tiniest bit. "Um, Hiei...why don't you be a good boy and keep it cool for now so that you won't come after me with your katana when you sober up..." She said nervously as Hiei looked as if he wanted to kiss her again or something. "Kaaaataana? You mean this?" He said as he pointed to the sword on his belt. "Yes Hiei that is precisely it." He nodded and then cuddled up in her lap. She screamed and then realized that it would be very difficult to get the youkai to agree to Koenma's terms while in a stupor.
"I'm gonna go to sleep now," Hiei muttered, not moving from Botan's lap. "The HELL you are!" she blurted out. In the meantime, Youko's camera was back and rolling once more. Botan noticed this and quickly shoved Hiei off. The little youkai looked vaguely forlorn, but at this point in time, Botan was slowly but surely losing her patience. She glared black death at Youko. "I'm going to give you until the count of ten to turn that off and hand it over," she said in a calm, almost menacing voice. "One...TEN!!! HAND IT OVER!!!!" Without further ado, she launched herself at the unsuspecting (well, not really) teenager, knocking him to the ground. They spent a few moments fighting over the camera when suddenly... "Well, this is new," came a familiar, amused voice. "HI YOU-SUCK-EE!!!!" screamed Hiei, his former exhaustion forgotten (if there was even really any to begin with). The Reikai Tantei blinked. "Kami-sama, Botan, what did you do to him?" She sweatdropped. "Uhm, well...it's a very interesting story, really...and quite long...and complicated..." "He was being a jerk and she spiked his food as revenge," Youko cut in. "Apparently he doesn't take well to alcohol" He paused for a moment. "Hey...wait a minute. Who are you, how do you know them, and when did you get in here?" The ex-delinquent grinned. "Urameshi Yusuke, friends of mine, and a few minutes ago. I'm kind of here to get you out." Botan groaned. "Why him, Koenma-sama?" she wailed quietly. Then, to Yusuke, "Uh, how ARE you getting us out of here, anyway?" "Koenma gave me this cool little doo-dah that can allegedly do the trick. Now, where did I put it..." "HEY, LOOK!!! IT'S AERODYNAMIC!!!!" shouted Hiei happily. Botan turned toward him, about to ask how exactly he could still pronounce the word 'aerodynamic', when she noticed the device flying through the air, falling four stories to the ground floor. She gulped. "Uhh, Yusuke...?" she said nervously, pointing to the object. "That wouldn't happen to be it, would it?" All four 'teens' stared in silence as the whatever-it-was smashed unceremoniously next to the closed Hallmark store four floors down. Youko turned to Yusuke. "So, you like fast food."
A/N: Now Yusuke is stuck too. Wonders never cease. Oh well, at least it's always the more the merrier right? And plus, where would we be without our favorite JD? ...Still stuck in the mall, that's where! That and the fact that Hiei...demolished the getaway contraption. Please review! We hope this was an entertaining chapter!
Son Christine and Kinaka Capri = The Jagans
Botan turned questioningly to Youko. "So, where do you think Cabbit and Jin ended up, anyway?" The teen gave an indifferent shrug. "Who knows? Do you remember which way they went?" Botan scanned the area quickly and pointed left. "That way...I think." "Good a place as any to start," Youko said, adjusting his hold on the unconscious Hiei and strolling off in that direction. The ferry girl gave a sigh of relief. Youko wasn't so bad after all. Now that he wasn't sniping with Hiei anymore, he was downright agreeable. Not to mention, he'd shut off the video camera after Hiei fainted, which was a definite plus. "So," she chirruped cheerfully. "Where are you from?" "Oh, somewhere in Osaka," Youko replied vaguely. "You?" Botan sweatdropped. "Uhhh, not anywhere around here," she smiled nervously. "It's...very far away." Unfortunately, any kinds of pleasantries were interrupted when Hiei suddenly decided to wake up. He tilted his head up and stared sleepily at Botan. "You know I've alwaysh looooooved you, right?" he slurred. Apparently, his alcohol tolerance was even lower than they thought.
"Koenma-sama, help me!" Botan squealed mutely. Hiei tried to lunge forward and grab the ferry girl's beautiful blue hair. Unfortunately he had missed, due to the fact that Youko grabbed him first by the waist and held him upside down. "Now listen up you...you...thing or whatever you are..." Youko said with an arched eyebrow. "You can't keep trying to fondle Botan...it isn't nice." "It isn't?" The fire demon replied, his speech still slurred. "No it isn't. Now if I set you down here will you be a good little...thing...and behave yourself?" Hiei nodded without a fraction of hesitation, obviously he hadn't heard a word that Youko said. It went in one ear and out the other. But the one thing that the koorime did know was that Youko was really starting to get on his last nerve...for no reason at all. "Okay...I'm going to put you down now." The teenager said slowly as he did just that. The only thing that he didn't see coming was the way that Hiei came lunging forward and kicked him in the shins.
"OW!!!" screeched Youko, hopping around on one foot and cursing in every language he knew. Botan cocked her head to the side questioningly. "Uh...Youko? You DO know that 'hola' only means 'hello', right?" ...And several that he didn't. Hiei had decided that he was done getting his revenge, and was currently sitting in a corner enjoying the spectacle with a bag of popcorn. Conveniently, the store in the corner was indeed none other than a popcorn store. Unfortunately, having every kind of popcorn under the sun isn't necessarily a good thing. You see, Hiei had very coincidently grabbed rum-flavored popcorn. Supposedly it was the first bag he could get his hands on. Either that, or he decided permanent intoxication was actually incredibly fun. But in either case, it didn't look like he was going to sober up any time soon. Meanwhile, Botan was beginning to wonder what exactly she had done to deserve this situation. Other than a few harmless practical jokes, she couldn't really think of anything. It was downright unfair.
"I think that we should get flame boy away from the goods before he takes full advantage of this drunk thing..." Youko said as he shut his eyes. "I mean, it's high time that we find a way out of this place. All we've been doing is going around in circles, trying to embarrass the other one!" He instantaneously hid his video camera behind his back, trying to not be the obvious hypocrite. "Well then Youko-kun...We should really find someone that can either take care of Hiei's rather..." She paused and looked down at him. He was trying to lick his elbow. "...his rather...disturbing drunken state. If we can do that, then we'll have a clear head and can probably find a way out of here before I have a panic attack. Oh if only Yuusuke were here right now..." She muttered. "Who's Yuusuke?" The teen boy replied. "Trust me...you don't want to know."
Youko frowned. "I think you're right...I probably don't." He looked back down at Hiei, who had ceased his...interesting activities and was now staring right back at him, still obviously in a drunken stupor. Botan shook her head. "Of all the people to have a low alcohol tolerance," she muttered under her breath. "Geez, didn't the guy ever touch a drop in Makai?" "Maaaaany," slurred Hiei, overhearing her. "Buuuuuuuuut, I guess that they make it stronger here, huh? Y'know, the differ'nt plants and all." Youko cocked an eyebrow. Botan just smiled nervously. "Uhhh, yeah, sure," she agreed cheerfully. "Now let's get going, shall we?" She cocked her head questioningly at the Jaganshi. "You're still coordinated enough to walk, I hope." He giggled insanely. "'Coord'nadiddydid. That's a funny word." She sweatdropped. "Youko, if you would be so kind..." she pleaded, gesturing from the teen to the youkai.
In no time at all, Hiei was draped over Youko's shoulder, still giggling about the word, 'coordinated.' Not a word was said as they continued on; there was bitter silence and the occasional feminine giggle of Hiei that abruptly made its way out of his throat. The adolescent suddenly stopped. "Hey, Botan...do you know that guy?" Youko breathed. It was dark but he could definitely make something out...a masculine silhouette. Youko pointed straight ahead at a man who seemed to be in the nearby craft store. "Youko- kun, I think that we should be on guard. You DO know martial arts, right?" "Relax, babe. I'm pretty tough so don't worry about it," Youko bragged as he brushed the bangs out of his eyes with his free hand. It was dark outside so he couldn't really see who the man was. "Should we just run passed him or should we ask him what he knows? Maybe he could help us escape..." Botan said as she looked around nervously. Since the wasted Jaganshi would prove of no assistance in combat for the time being, she had to rely on ningen wit instead. That wasn't really a strong suit to begin with. "I'll go check..." Youko whispered as he walked up forward and entered the craft store.
The 'courageous' brunette slunk cautiously toward the shadowy figure, holding a recently found pool noodle in his hands (the camera was too precious for that kind of use). He darted in close, tapped the figure on the shoulder, and, when nerves got the best of him, whacked the figure in the back of the head before it could react. CRUNCH. The sound of tearing cardboard could be heard throughout the empty store. Youko sweatdropped and stared down at the (now headless) image of Legolas from the Lord of the Rings. "Whoops...uh, I can pay for that...I think..." Back at the entrance, Botan smacked herself in the head. "I am never getting out of here, am I?" she muttered to herself. "Nope!" Hiei informed her cheerfully. "Corndog?" he added innocently, holding one up to the ferry girl. "No thank you, I really think you've done enough for one day--hey, where on earth did you get that from?" Botan asked him suspiciously. He gave her a cherubic smile (and man, did it look freaky on his face) and shrugged. "Places."
"Forget it man, we're STUCK here until the rats either eat us or until Hiei kills us with his infested corndog!" "Hey! MY corndog!" He snapped back, protectively hugging it. (That lasted for about three seconds when he suddenly took a bite out of it). "Okay...um...think..." Youko said as he paced the floor, keeping his eyes transfixed on the floor. "How 'bout we...burn a hole through the windows or ceiling using this guy's weird powers." Botan huffed. "How 'bout we don't!" She cried out, aware that if they broke anything in Ningenkai, it would be her head on the table. "Okay then..." Youko muttered. "If Jin and Cabbit could get out, then so could we. Um...let's disguise ourselves as something." "Oooh...disguises..." Hiei mused as he looked down at his morbid black outfit. "I wanna have her blouse first..." He continued to babble. Youko arched an eyebrow, knowing that his idea was about to go out the window. "Forget it. I don't want to make you a transvestite. So...um...hey Botan, do YOU have any weird powers that could get us outta here?" Botan jumped in surprise. Uh oh. Great. She was with a stubborn know-it-all teenager...who DID actually look quite cute but that wasn't even the point. "Actually...Youko..." Botan started.
Youko raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes...?" She couldn't believe it. WHY HADN'T SHE THOUGHT OF THIS SOONER?!!! Like, some time before Hiei had gotten wasted right out of his typical personality. But oh well. At least she'd thought of it now. Botan grinned at Youko. "Um...I'll be back in five!" She ran off. Youko stared. "O...kay... That was weird." "Botan's veeeeeeeery veeeeeeeeery weird," Hiei said in a singsong sort of voice. "Aaaaaand, she always waaaaaaas and always will be." The teen just shook his head. "Are you sure it's the alcohol that's doing this to you? Cause this is the strangest reaction to booze I have ever seen in my life." Meanwhile, Botan made sure she was out of earshot and flipped open her Communication Mirror. "Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama, please answer!" The toddler's face flickered on to the screen. "Botan? Is that you? What are you still doing at the mall?! It's past midnight! Didn't that place close by now?" Botan giggled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well, Koenma-sama, it was the darndest thing..." The Reikai prince just rolled his eyes and held up a hand. "Please. Spare me." He frowned suddenly, looking anxious. "Hiei hasn't been doing anything...illegal, has he? I mean, you know how he gets, and you actually dragged him to the MALL, of all places." The ferry girl squeaked slightly. "No, he's actually been pretty, um, good. Well, let's just say, errr, well, Hiei's not exactly feeling himself right now, Koenma-sama." Koenma shook his head. "I do not want to know," he stated flatly.
"Well anyway, sir...I was...erm...I mean...we are you know in the mall because...we're kind of stuck here." "STUCK?!" The prince's reaction was something that made Botan jump in fright. "How could you be stuck with a delinquent Jaganshi in a ningen mall after hours? You know Botan, you never cease to amaze me." She laughed nervously. "I...uh...aim to please?" The ferry girl knew that that was lame but still decided to speak with the angry Koenma. "Well now that I've told you, what am I supposed to do? This is SO not good, Koenma-sama!" "Yes you have yourself in quite a pickle but maybe I can be of some assistance. That is...until you provide generous compensation for my heroic little number in return." Botan let her shoulders drop. Koenma really WAS hard to please. "What exactly did you have in mind?" Koenma smirked. "You have to convince Hiei to be my personal slave for a week at most." Botan suddenly felt that a heavy burden was lifted off of her shoulders. With his drunken state in full swing, she could get him to do just about anything! "It's a deal, Koenma-sama."
Koenma raised an eyebrow. "Well, that was easy." The chipper ferry girl grinned. "You have no idea." 'Heh, what Koenma doesn't know won't hurt him, and will get me out of this mall! THANK YOU YOUKO!!!!!' Her eyes went wide. 'Crap. Youko.' She turned back to the communicator, where Koenma thankfully had not yet hung up. "Uhm...Koenma-sama, there's one teeeeeny tiny thing I forgot to mention." He eyed her warily. "Yes, Botan?" "Well, you see, when we got stuck in this mall, we kinda weren't alone, and y'see, there's this boy here with us--" "Oh, no you don't," Koenma warned, shaking his head. "You know our policy about mortals finding out about Reikai! Does this guy even have a sixth sense?!" "Kindasortanotreally," Botan muttered. Koenma's eyes narrowed. "Botan, I'm sorry. You know the rules." "But--but, the snow! And the mall! And the snow!!!! We can't just leave him here! He'll go insane! And if there's one thing I know, it's that Reikai's got enough loonies to deal with. Pleeeeease Koenma-sama? I'll do anything PLUS the thing with Hiei!" The Reikai prince frowned in thought. "Well...I guess we could...after all, Hiei could just use his Jagan and make the kid forget everything. But the bit about Hiei still goes." "Not a problem, sir!" Botan announced cheerfully, giving him a salute and flipping off the communicator. She stood up, in a much better mood than she had started out in. 'Now...let's just hope that alcohol hasn't worn off yet!'
"GET OFF ME!" Youko screamed. He was, at the moment, having a veeery difficult time keeping the fire demon under control. Hiei was actually trying to climb up Youko's shoulders for some random reason. "Botan! Help!!" He shrieked again, not knowing if he could take the Jaganshi's rather interesting behavior for much longer. She came back as fast as she could as soon as she heard Youko's desperate plea for assistance. "Hiei! Stop that!" Botan cried as she crossed her arms. "Botan!" He purred happily, lunging for her instead. She rolled her eyes and hardly expected the koorime to knock her over and fall into her lap. "You're preeeeettyyyyyyyy..." He slurred. The alcohol had not worn off in the tiniest bit. "Um, Hiei...why don't you be a good boy and keep it cool for now so that you won't come after me with your katana when you sober up..." She said nervously as Hiei looked as if he wanted to kiss her again or something. "Kaaaataana? You mean this?" He said as he pointed to the sword on his belt. "Yes Hiei that is precisely it." He nodded and then cuddled up in her lap. She screamed and then realized that it would be very difficult to get the youkai to agree to Koenma's terms while in a stupor.
"I'm gonna go to sleep now," Hiei muttered, not moving from Botan's lap. "The HELL you are!" she blurted out. In the meantime, Youko's camera was back and rolling once more. Botan noticed this and quickly shoved Hiei off. The little youkai looked vaguely forlorn, but at this point in time, Botan was slowly but surely losing her patience. She glared black death at Youko. "I'm going to give you until the count of ten to turn that off and hand it over," she said in a calm, almost menacing voice. "One...TEN!!! HAND IT OVER!!!!" Without further ado, she launched herself at the unsuspecting (well, not really) teenager, knocking him to the ground. They spent a few moments fighting over the camera when suddenly... "Well, this is new," came a familiar, amused voice. "HI YOU-SUCK-EE!!!!" screamed Hiei, his former exhaustion forgotten (if there was even really any to begin with). The Reikai Tantei blinked. "Kami-sama, Botan, what did you do to him?" She sweatdropped. "Uhm, well...it's a very interesting story, really...and quite long...and complicated..." "He was being a jerk and she spiked his food as revenge," Youko cut in. "Apparently he doesn't take well to alcohol" He paused for a moment. "Hey...wait a minute. Who are you, how do you know them, and when did you get in here?" The ex-delinquent grinned. "Urameshi Yusuke, friends of mine, and a few minutes ago. I'm kind of here to get you out." Botan groaned. "Why him, Koenma-sama?" she wailed quietly. Then, to Yusuke, "Uh, how ARE you getting us out of here, anyway?" "Koenma gave me this cool little doo-dah that can allegedly do the trick. Now, where did I put it..." "HEY, LOOK!!! IT'S AERODYNAMIC!!!!" shouted Hiei happily. Botan turned toward him, about to ask how exactly he could still pronounce the word 'aerodynamic', when she noticed the device flying through the air, falling four stories to the ground floor. She gulped. "Uhh, Yusuke...?" she said nervously, pointing to the object. "That wouldn't happen to be it, would it?" All four 'teens' stared in silence as the whatever-it-was smashed unceremoniously next to the closed Hallmark store four floors down. Youko turned to Yusuke. "So, you like fast food."
A/N: Now Yusuke is stuck too. Wonders never cease. Oh well, at least it's always the more the merrier right? And plus, where would we be without our favorite JD? ...Still stuck in the mall, that's where! That and the fact that Hiei...demolished the getaway contraption. Please review! We hope this was an entertaining chapter!
Son Christine and Kinaka Capri = The Jagans