Last Chapter...
"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!
Love Me, Hate Me, Just Don't Let Me Fall
Chapter 11: In Which Shishi Needs a Haircut
Hiei, Shizuru, and Kurama were walking down the street in search of Botan when Kurama's cell phone rang.
"What the heck is that!" Hiei asked, glaring at the source of the irritating noise. "It's annoying."
Amused at his ignorance, Shizuru smiled and explained what a cellular phone was while Kurama answered the call, "Hello? ...Yes, Hiei's right here..." In response to whatever was said next, a grin crept onto the fox's face. "Oh, is that so? ...Okay, I'll tell him... Fine, we'll meet you there. Bye."
Kurama hung up and slipped it back into his pocket. Hiei and Shizuru regarded him curiously, wondering what had been said.
"That was Keiko. She says Botan is cheating on you with Touya," he answered with a grin.
"Nani!" Shizuru asked as Hiei eyed the fox inquisitively.
"They were searching for Botan at the mall, and Yusuke saw Botan and Touya together at the food court. He thought Botan was on a date, became angry and accidentally destroyed something. He told Keiko, and then Keiko told us."
Shizuru shook her head sadly. "Yusuke, that idiot! When's he going to learn not to meddle with other people's business?"
"At least he found Botan for us..." Kurama said optimistically. "Anyway, I agreed to meet them at the entrance to the mall, so let's go."
The trio set off to the designated meeting place. Thankfully, they were close to the mall and arrived within minutes. Keiko and Yusuke were right where they said they would be. As soon as they saw Hiei, they rushed over to him.
"Oh kami, I am sooo sorry, Hiei! I can't believe I accused you of doing something to Botan when she's been toying with you like this! Gomen nasai, Hiei!" Keiko exclaimed.
Yusuke patted the fire demon on the back sympathetically. "Gomen, man, I never saw this coming... Sheesh, if anybody was to be disloyal I figured it would be you..."
Normally Hiei scorned anyone who dared to pity him, but this was most certainly not a typical situation. Instead of telling them off, he silenced them with a calm stare and demanded, "Show me where she is."
Without another word, Keiko and Yusuke led Hiei into the mall. Shizuru and Kurama followed close behind, exchanging worried glances. Hiei wouldn't dare go ballistic in a ningen mall... would he?
Soon enough, Hiei found himself at the food court with Touya and Botan in sight. Yusuke pointed and said, "See? They're on a date!"
Kurama put a hand on Hiei's shoulder and warned, "Don't you dare do anything stupid, Hiei. There are ningens here, and you don't need to get on Koenma's bad side!"
The fire demon slipped from the fox's grasp with a glare and stalked towards Botan and Touya. They noticed him immediately, and Touya muttered, "Finally..."
Botan got up and ran to her beloved. "Hiei!" she squealed as she hugged him tightly.
But to her bewilderment, Hiei shoved her away harshly and growled, "Don't 'Hiei' me, Botan! I trusted you! I gave you my heart and soul, and this is how you repay me! By going off to date the first demon you find! HOW DARE YOU DO THIS TO ME!"
Botan's eyes widened and she gasped, "You can't believe that I... Touya... but, how..."
Her 'boyfriend' sneered, "Oh, don't worry. Yusuke told me all about your little date."
"Yusuke...?" Botan's eyes flashed dangerously as she scanned the crowd around her. Her gaze finally landed on Yusuke, and she glowered at him. The boy had been enjoying the show, but upon noticing Botan's gaze, he cowered behind Keiko. Fortunately for him, Keiko wasn't easily intimidated and simply glared back.
Shizuru glanced around anxiously, taking note of the people crowding around to see the cause of all the commotion. She whispered to Kurama, "Hiei's causing a scene..."
The fox nodded in agreement and silently prayed that everything would be all right. For all he knew, Hiei might challenge Touya to a death match in the midst of a human audience.
However, much to their relief, Hiei ended the scene by saying, "Come now, Botan, my love. Many things have yet to be discussed, and we don't want to do this in public, now do we?"
His taunting tone struck a nerve in Botan. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut short when Hiei grabbed her by the hand and dragged her away.
Although Kurama was relieved that Hiei was going to talk to Botan privately, that sly fire demon had left Shizuru and him to deal with everything! The crowd had yet to disperse, not to mention poor Touya: saving him from Keiko and Yusuke's wrath would require either some very smooth lying or very fast running...
Aware of this, Kurama and Shizuru edged closer to the Ice Master, as Keiko and Yusuke stomped over to him.
Touya watched the four approach, his heart filled with dread. Though he hadn't believed it to be possible, his life was getting WORSE! Hiei - the one demon keeping him from Yukina - now believed Botan had cheated on him with Touya. And now, he would have to face these four...
Much braver now that Botan was gone, Yusuke began, "How could you date her, Touya? I thought you were honorable, but I guess not!"
"I do hope you know you're coming between a very happy couple. And they just got together yesterday! YESTERDAY! You could've at least waited a week before sticking your pretty boy head into their business!" Keiko reprimanded. She slapped the ice master's cheek with all her might, and then turned away dramatically. "Come on Yusuke, let's leave this scum and go find Yukina and Kuwabara! Just wait until we tell them what happened!"
At the mention of Yukina, Touya stopped rubbing his sore face, and his heart came to a standstill. Yukina! They were going to tell her that he had done such a dishonorable thing! Now, Hiei or no Hiei, he would definitely have no chance with her. The Ice Master's life was now officially over...
As soon as Yusuke and Keiko left, Touya stared dully at Kurama and Shizuru. "Well? Are you two going to yell at me too?"
"Oh, don't worry about them. The only people who actually believe that are Yusuke and Keiko," Shizuru reassured him. "We already know the truth, so don't worry about us yelling at you."
"Wait, you know the whole truth?" Touya inquired. He was trying to figure out if Hiei had already told them about Koenma and the whole marriage proposal incident.
"What whole truth?" Kurama asked. Did Touya already know about everything, or did Botan lie to him?
"What did Hiei tell you?"
"What did Botan tell YOU?"
Touya and Kurama stared at each other suspiciously.
But before any progress could be made, Jin, Rinku and Chuu arrived on the scene (and just as the crowd was about to leave too!). Oblivious to the conversation he was interrupting, Jin announced cheerfully, "Oi, Touya! We got a parrot now! Her name's Pepper and she likes salt! See?" Jin demonstrated by pouring salt into his hand and letting the bright green-feathered bird sitting on his shoulder eat it.
Chuu glanced at Kurama and Shizuru, and said, "Oi Touya, who're the pretty gals? Your girlfriends or something?" He leaned in closer to the ice master and muttered, "They strippers, ne? Why didn't you call me and tell me you were having a party?"
Touya glared at him. "No, you baka. That is Shizuru, and that's Kurama, who happens to be a boy. They came with Hiei to pick up Botan."
After studying Kurama suspiciously, Chuu asked, "You sure you're a boy...? Because you look like a girl, and a pretty one too!"
Kurama sweat-dropped and said, "I assure you, I'm most certainly male."
Chuu's eyes narrowed. "Prove it!"
"Nani!" a startled fox asked. Shizuru noticed the shocked expression on Kurama's face and tried to contain her laughter, but failed miserably.
Rinku pulled out a toy hammer from nowhere and thwacked Chuu on the head. "Baka! If he says he's a boy, then he's a boy!"
"So where's Hiei now?" Jin asked.
"He already left with Botan."
"Oh, good! I was afraid that crazy youkai would try to fight you or something. And, you know, fire and ice make water..."
"What? That made no sense, Jin."
Sitting on Jin's shoulder, Pepper the parrot repeated, "KRAWK! Fire and ice make water, KRAWK!"
"Jin, shut your bird up! It's annoying!"
"Wah! I can't do that! Pepper's me parrot pal!"
"AAAAHHH! HELP!" Shishiwakamaru came running towards them, pursued by Suzuka, who was brandishing a pair of scissors.
Touya gaped in horror. Just what they needed - MORE freaks to add to the show!
"Get back here! You need a haircut!" yelled Suzuka.
"You'll never get my hair alive, you hear me? NEVER!"
"But you hair hasn't been cut in decades! Besides, short hair's all the rage now!"
Shishi finally reached the food court and quickly hid behind Chuu. "Crazy clown, MY HAIR IS JUST FINE!"
Chuu grinned mischievously and grabbed Shishi by the shoulders, pulling him closer to Suzuka. "Oi, Suzuka, come and get him!"
Suzuka was glad for the help and advanced on the struggling Shishi, smirking the entire time. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rinku practically flew through the air in a flying tackle and hit Suzuka hard, making them both land on the floor.
"Let him be, you baka!"
Suzuka's scissors had flown from his grasp, and Jin spotted them a few feet away. The Wind Master picked them up and stalked towards a still struggling Shishi. Pepper, the parrot sitting on his shoulder, bit Jin sharply on the ear, forcing him to accidentally drop the scissors. "KRAWK! If he says his hair is fine, then let him be! KRAWK! You baka!" the green-feathered bird repeated.
Jin cursed colorfully at his traitorous bird. Then he, Suzuka, Rinku, and Pepper all dived for the scissors simultaneously, as Shishiwakamaru finally freed himself from Chuu's grasp. He quickly jumped away and drew his sword. "I'm going to kill you, you drunkard!"
The ningen crowd gasped, surprised to see a real katana. Surely this crazy swordsman didn't mean to actually kill the big blue-haired guy? Then, perhaps they were putting on a play. Yes, that's it. This must be some sort of play! The audience, thinking everyone was acting, clapped wildly as Shishi tackled Chuu and the others fought over the scissors.
While this was going on, Touya pulled Shizuru and Kurama away from all of the humans. "Okay, tell me what you know!"
"Why don't you tell us what you know first?" Kurama requested.
"Oh, give me a break! Touya, do you know about the marriage proposal or not!" Shizuru interfered.
"Yes... Do you know about the tests?"
"Hai. So everyone knows everything, right?" Shizuru asked.
"Hai..." the two guys chorused.
Shizuru rolled her eyes. Men could be so stubborn and paranoid! If she hadn't been there, those two would still be asking each other questions.
"Well, there's one thing I'd like to know: Why did Keiko and Yusuke think that I would date a girl who already had a boyfriend?" asked Touya.
"Oh, they just jump to the silliest conclusions sometimes," Kurama explained dismissively. He quickly explained what Yusuke saw.
Shizuru asked, "How did you end up here with Botan, anyway?"
The Ice Master told them how they kidnapped Botan by Koenma's orders and everything that happened afterward.
"And you ended up making a deal with Botan...? What was it?" Shizuru asked curiously.
"Yeah..." Touya said. He was reluctant to tell them that he liked Yukina, but... They certainly seemed trustworthy, so it couldn't hurt to tell two more people, could it? "If I find suitable a bride for Koenma, then Botan will convince Hiei to let me date his sister."
"You like Yukina?"
Touya nodded in response, hoping they wouldn't laugh.
"Oh kami, you two would made the perfect couple!" Shizuru exclaimed.
"That's what Botan said right before she started talking about my future children," Touya replied.
Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Children?"
"Hai, that baka said I was going to make a fine father!"
Shizuru and Kurama looked at him to see if he was serious, and when they saw he was, they burst into laughter.
"What? Quit laughing, it's not funny!" Touya said irritably.
"Gomen, Touya, but I can't even picture you with any children," Shizuru explained, still laughing.
"So, you're saying that I shouldn't have children? Is that it?"
"Erm, no..."
"Because I plan to, baka!"
"Oh? You do? With who?" Kurama asked. "With Yukina, ne?"
Shizuru gushed, "So you're already planning your future with her - how sweet!"
Flustered, Touya blurted, "GAH! No, you bakas, I just want to DATE her! Not... that other stuff..."
Kurama chuckled and said, "Okay, if you say so..." Glancing at Jin and the others, who were engaged in a tug-of-war over the scissors, he continued, "Anyway, we should escape before we get pulled into their little war."
Shizuru nodded in agreement, and Touya said in awe, "Escape... I haven't been able to do that in MONTHS!"
"Where can we go? We don't want them finding us, and I know we don't want Keiko and the others finding Touya," Kurama said.
"I think I know a good place to go." The other two turned to look at Shizuru. "Follow me. We can go to my old elementary school."
"Elementary school!" Touya repeated doubtfully.
"They'll never find us there!" she assured.
"If you say so..."
Shizuru led Touya and Kurama far away from the battle that raged in the food court and out of the mall, on their way to her old school.