Last Chapter...
"Yusuke!"
"Uh, hi guys..." the Spirit Detective greeted sheepishly.
Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall
Chapter 10: Yusuke Causes Trouble
After leaving Kurama's house, the four split up: Yukina and Kuwabara went to search a nearby park while Keiko and Yusuke went to the nearby mall. Keiko told Yusuke to search the first floor while she went to the second floor. He didn't want to anger her, so he agreed to her plan immediately.
Yusuke walked past dozens of stores, searching for any sign of Botan, but he was unsuccessful. It didn't exactly help that it was crowded with people, and he had to dodge someone every few seconds to avoid being knocked over, nor was he amused when he almost fell down the escalator when someone stumbled into him. By the time Yusuke arrived at the food court, he was in a very bad mood.
He finally found her at the food court, sitting with a familiar demon. Yusuke couldn't believe he was seeing Touya of all beings with Botan at the mall in Ningenkai. This was odd, very odd indeed. Something must be terribly wrong!
Yusuke creeped closer, making sure his ki was low enough to go undetected, and eventually found a hiding spot behind a large potted plant. He was now close enough to see Botan and Touya, but still couldn't hear them because of all of the noisy ningens around him. From Hiei's story, Yusuke knew that Koenma had kidnapped Botan, so either Touya was helping Koenma or Botan had somehow escaped. He doubted the honorable ice master would stoop as low as kidnapping former ferry girls to aid an envious demigod, so he decided on the latter.
Assuming that Botan had managed to escape from Koenma, Yusuke wondered why she was now with Touya. Had he rescued her? Did they meet by chance? Yusuke could only watch and hope to discover more.
Watching her closely, Yusuke could tell Botan was laughing. Why would she laugh? She had just been kidnapped, for kami's sake! Unless... Hmmm... a guy and a girl, together at the food court in a mall. It didn't take a genius to figure out what must be going on.
Touya and Botan were on a date!
Yusuke couldn't believe it, but the proof was right there in front of his very eyes. He didn't know how Botan had gotten away from Koenma and how she ended up with Touya, but those were minor details. Right now the most important thing was that something had to be done about this! Hiei and Yusuke might not always get along with one another, but they were friends and teammates. Yusuke would help the fire youkai, no matter what!
The Spirit Detective glared at the pair sitting only a few feet away from him. This was so wrong. Botan, that double-crossing onna, told Hiei she loved him, and after he returned those feelings, this is how she decided to repay him? Sadistic and cruel though he may be, Hiei had a good heart, and never would Yusuke allow anyone to play him like some kind of boy toy!
If Hiei ever found out that Botan was cheating on him with another demon, it would absolutely break his heart. Imagine the first being he ever dared to love as a girlfriend doing such a horrible thing behind his back! The fire demon would probably go insane. Nobody within a 100-mile radius would be safe from Hiei's fury, least of all Botan and Touya.
On the other hand, Botan was another one of Yusuke's friends, and even though what she had done was wrong, Yusuke would do his best to prevent her from being killed by an angry fire demon. Mortally injured, though, was another story...
As his anger built up, Yusuke decided that he would have to take action and stop this horrendous wrongdoing. He continued watching Touya and Botan as they talked to each other. Without even realizing it, spirit energy was slowly gathering at Yusuke's index finger.
Suddenly he saw Botan give Touya something that looked like a mirror. Hey, wait a minute... Yusuke recognized that to be a communication mirror! How dare she give him Reikai property just because she was too cheap for a cell phone!
Yusuke's anger reached its peak, and he accidentally let loose his trademark Spirit Gun. Thankfully, it didn't hit any people, but it did manage to destroy the potted plant that had been Yusuke's hiding place. With a crash, the remains of the plant landed on the floor. Many of the surrounding ningens looked to see what all of the commotion was about, but that wasn't of Yusuke's concern.
Touya and Botan were staring at Yusuke, shocked by his sudden appearance. This wasn't exactly the dramatic entrance Yusuke had wanted, but no matter. This would have to do.
"Yusuke!" Botan asked incredulously.
"Uh, hi guys..." he answered.
Touya raised an eyebrow at the remains of the potted plant on the floor. "You should be more careful Yusuke. It isn't like you to destroy random objects in public."
Yusuke grinned sheepishly. "Eheheh... clumsy old me, always knocking things over..."
"Do you want to sit down, Yusuke?" Botan offered. Neither one seemed to suspect Yusuke knew what was going on, but he noticed the way they acted so casual, not a trace of guilt in their eyes. It sickened Yusuke.
Deciding to find out more information before confronting them, Yusuke pulled up a chair and sat down. "So, what are you two doing here?"
Touya and Botan exchanged a secretive glance. Oooh, there was definitely something going on between them! Swiftly, Touya answered, "Uh, I was just waiting for Jin, and Botan's been waiting for Hiei, and we sort of ran into each other and decided to talk while we were waiting."
He said he was waiting for Jin? HA! Yusuke knew that Jin wasn't allowed back into Ningenkai since his rampage through Toys R Us! His lie had been caught! Now that he knew for sure something was most certainly wrong, it was time to start interfering.
"What are you doing here, Yusuke?" Botan asked.
"Oh, just looking for Keiko. So where've you been lately, Botan? We've missed you since we last saw you with Hiei, your boyfriend," Yusuke said furtively, trying to remind Botan of the man she was cheating on.
Botan seemed unfazed by this and said, "Oh, here and there, you know how it is. By the way, do you know where Hiei is? I've been waiting for him for a while. He's not injured, is he?"
Her feigned concern made Yusuke angrier. It was bad enough to be unfaithful to a guy, but then to act like you still care? Pathetic!
"Oh, I just saw Hiei, and he told us everything - how you two fell in love, Koenma kidnapped you, and Hiei's Jagan lost its power. I can't believe you, Botan! I thought you loved him! He's out there right now looking for you, and you're here with Touya!"
Botan's face had such a confused look that she almost convinced Yusuke - almost. "I don't understand Yusuke. What are you talking about?"
"He thinks we're on a date," Touya answered, understanding exactly what Yusuke meant. "Baka!"
"NANI! Me... and Touya? ON A DATE? TOGETHER! How dare you think that I would do something like that!" Botan shrieked. Her temper was steadily rising, and Yusuke could tell.
"Uh, is that Keiko calling me? Gotta run!" he said as he took off. That went rather badly, so it was better to escape before Botan could attack him. This was even worse than Yusuke had first imagined. She cheated on Hiei, and then when she knew she was caught, she acted like nothing was wrong and even had the nerve to lie about it!
Yusuke decided that he should go tell Keiko everything. He ran to the second floor of the mall and looked for her, eventually finding her by a department store. He called out her name and ran over to her before he lost her in the crowd.
Keiko turned and saw him. "What is it, Yusuke? Have you found her?"
"Oh, I found her all right, that double-crossing, back-stabbing-"
"Where is she? Is she okay? What happened?"
Yusuke told Keiko everything, including his suspicions about her cheating on Hiei.
"She's cheating on Hiei with Touya! How do I know that you're telling the truth?" Keiko demanded to know.
"Come on, I'll show you!"
Yusuke led Keiko back downstairs and to the food court, making sure there was plenty of distance between them and Botan in case she saw them and got mad again. "See? What did I tell you? They're on a date!"
"Oh my god! She is! That little-"
"I know! We have to tell Hiei! Do you know where he is?"
"I'm not sure. He's probably out searching for Botan."
"Maybe Kurama knows where he is. He's got a cell phone, right?"
"Yeah, let's call him then." Keiko pulled out her cellular phone and called Kurama. This was going to be sweet. That lying ferry girl was going to get what she deserved!