Chapter II: Reminiscence of the past…

Botan's P.O.V

Three years.

Three long years.

After he left, he had called the following day. He sounded so excited about the whole thing. And she was happy for him. After that, he would call her at least twice a week and send her letters. A year went bye. She started getting use to not having him here. But all of a sudden, his letters had stopped coming. His phone calls had stopped. She tried contacting him but she couldn't get a hold of him. To this day, she hasn't heard anything for him but she waited patiently. She waited for her best friend to come home to her. She missed him so much. Since that day he left, she hasn't been the same. When he left, he promised that he will always write and kept in contact with her but he stopped. He didn't write her any letters anymore and the ones she sent him, he didn't reply to them. She didn't understand why he didn't responded. She didn't understand why he broke his promise to her. It was so unlike him. The Kurama she knew would have never done such a thing. And after all that, she still waited for him to write her back.

K/BK/BK/BK/B

Botan walked around the mall with her three best friends Yukina, Shizuru, and Keiko. They were currently shopping for clothes for Botan's vacation. She had informed them that she had gotten the whole summer off and wanted to visit a foreign country. She didn't tell them where she wanted to go. She just told them it was somewhere warm. Her friends had automatically assumed that she was going somewhere in the Caribbean. She had done nothing to change their minds. She watched, as her friends picked out clothes they thought were the cutest. As for her, she was preoccupied on her own world. Her thoughts were on Kurama again. She had been since she decided to go on that vacation. When he used to write her, he will tell her about Boston. He would tell how magnificent the city and how lively it was. The moment she learned, she had the whole summer off; she had decided to go to Boston. She wanted to see why this city fascinated Kurama so much. And with any luck, she might learn why Kurama didn't write her anymore. When he stopped writing her, she visited his parents to know why. They say they didn't know. Instead, they gave her his address just in case she had the wrong one. She had used it but came up with nothing. After countless try, she had given up.

Botan knew why she wanted to go to Boston. Though she didn't want to admit it to herself. She was going there to find Kurama. She had told herself numerous times that she just wanted to see why Kurama like that city so much but she knew better. She wanted to see Kurama. She wanted to know why he didn't write her anymore. Had he forgotten about her? Was their friendship destined to end like this? She sighed. She was so confused. If Kurama was here, he would have told her what to do.

"Hey, Botan are you okay?" Shizuru asked.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, you're okay. You've been preoccupied lately."

"Sorry you guys. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Oh nothing important."

"You were thinking about Kurama again, weren't you?" Keiko asked.

She blushed.

"Botan, you promised us you'll stop." Yukina said.

"I can't. I tried but I can't."

"Botan…"

"You don't understand. He's my best friend and I'm worried about him."

Her friends sighed.

"Botan, can we asked you ask you something." Shizuru said.

"Sure."

She took a deep breath.

"Are you in love with Kurama?"

"What?"

"Are you in love with him?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"Because he's the only thing you think about and talk about."

"I don't want to talk about it."

With that, she left the mall. Thank goodness, she had taken her car to the mall. She drove to her apartment, barely paying any attention to the road. She was pissed. How dare her friends ask her such a stupid question? Was she in love with Kurama? Of course, she was in love with him. Why else would she break up with Koenma? Why else would she want to go to a foreign country? Why else would she be so miserable? Who else could she be in love with but her best friend? He was the only one who truly understood her. The only one who saw her as a person and not just the deity of death? She would be stupid not to love him. Back inside her apartment, she flung herself on the bed and cried.

B/KB/KB/KB/KB/KB/K

A twenty-one-years-old Kurama parked his car and turned off the ignition. He locked the car and made to his apartment. He got his mail out of the mailbox and flipped through them.

"Bills…bills…junk…bills…more junk." He sighed. "Why do I keep doing this to myself? It's not like she's going to write me anymore."

He unlocked the door to his apartment and dropped his keys along with the mail on the counter. He went to the living room and checked his messages. He pushed the button and listened:

"You have five new messages…message one: "Hi, honey. It's me, mom. I wanted to let you know that starting today your father and I are going on our summer cruise. We won't be home so if you need us, call us on our cell phones and little Shuichi is in basketball camp. Well, I have to go. I will call you later. I love you, sweetie." Message 2: "Hey, Shuichi, it's me Bryan. I was wondering if you want to go clubbing with me and the guys. Well give me a call, man. Talk to you later." Message 3: "Hi, Shuichi. It's me, Sam. Give me a call. I need to talk to you. Okay, bye."

The next two messages were telemarketers so he just deleted them. He didn't call his friends back. He was too tired to talk. He made his way to his bedroom and took his shirt off. He then walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He turned on the shower and stepped into the stall. He watched his blood-red hair, which he had cut short when he arrived at the U.S. His hair had grown back though. It was almost shoulder length. He rinsed the shampoo out of his hair before reaching for the soap. He worked it into lather and soaped his body. After his shower, he dressed into a pair of basketball shorts. He went to the kitchen to find something to eat. His fridge was full with food but he didn't feel like cooking. Therefore, he just gets an apple and some juice. "Maybe, I should get some sleep." He thought. When he was done with his snack, he went to his room and lay on the bed.

"I'm almost done with school here. I only have one year left then I can go back to Japan."

He really couldn't wait to see his friends. He missed them so much especially her. Botan, the woman he loves. He thought that coming to the U.S would have cured him of this infatuation but it didn't. If anything, he was more in love with Botan now than he was three years ago. He thinks about her twenty-four/seven. He was so sad when she stopped writing him. He thought she might have lost his address, so he wrote to her. He gave his mother a letter to give her but she still had not written back. He couldn't get in contact with the other Rekai Tentai either. He has absolutely no idea why they didn't write him. He didn't want to believe that his friends had forgotten about him. He didn't want to believe that she had forgotten him. The mere thought hurt like nothing he had felt before.

"Did you get everything?" Keiko asked.

"Yes." She said.

"You're sure you didn't forget anything." Shizuru asked again.

"Yes, you guys. I didn't forget anything."

"Alright."

"Don't forget to write us." Yukina said.

"Send us pictures."

"You guys, I'm only going there for four weeks."

"We know. We're just going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

She hugged each one of them and said goodbyes. Before she got on the plane, she got her handbag and herself checked for illegal materials. She then left and got her boarding pass checked and got on the plane. She sat in her designated seat, which was by the window. Botan took a deep breathe. She made it. She was on a plane that was heading to Boston. She hated having to lie to her friends but she didn't want them to know. It's not because she didn't trust them. She did. She trusted them with her life. It's just that if she didn't find Kurama, she'll be he only one who knows about it. She listened halfheartedly as the captain welcomed them aboard and telling them about the safety measures and what to do in case of an emergency. To her, this plane couldn't get fast enough to Boston.

"Thanks Shuichi, you're the best." Sam said.

Kurama smiled at his friend. He had promised to drive her to the airport. She was visiting her parents who lived in Oregon.

"You're welcome, Sam."

"Now come on and help me out. I don't want to miss my plane." She said.

"Fine."

He helped bring her bags inside the airport. He waited till she got her boarding pass before saying goodbye. She hugged him and kissed his cheeks.

"I'm going to miss so much." She said.

"I'll miss you too."

"No you won't."

"Of course I'll miss you. You're my friend."

"Only a friend?" she said.

"Sam…I…"

"Right. Your heart belongs to someone else."

"Sam…"

"Oops. I think that my plane. Bye Shuichi…see you when I get back."

"Bye."

Kurama turned to leave when something caught his attention. It was bleu hair. Botan's face immediately came to mind. She was the only person he knew that had this kind silky blue hair. He watched as the blue haired woman put something in her handbag and smiled at the security guard. He didn't know why but for some reason, he didn't want to move without seeing her face. And then she did. She turned. He gasped.

"Botan?"

Botan put her passport inside her bag and smiled at the security guard.

"Thank you." She said.

"You're quite welcome, miss. And welcome to Boston."

"Thanks."

She took the handle of her suitcase and turned toward the exit. Before she even got the chance to move, she heard someone say her name. She turned around and saw her obsession standing there.

"Kurama?"

The man moved slowly toward her and stood still when he was a foot away from her. They just stared at each other for a while. Neither believes that the other was real. They had spent the last three years pining for each other and now that they were finally face-to-face, they didn't know what to say.

"Botan, is that really you?" he said.

"I could ask you the same question." She said.

She didn't wait for him to answer, she threw herself in his arms and hugged him for all her worth.

"Oh! My God, Kurama…I missed you so much."

"Botan…I've missed you too."

"I've never thought I would see you again."

"What are you doing here?"

She pulled away form him and looked away. She couldn't tell him that she was here to find him so she told him half of the truth.

"I'm on vacation so I decided to come here."

"Why?"

"Because you told me so much about this city and I wanted to see for myself why you like it so much."

"I just can't believe you're here. I have so much to tell you."

She smiled. This time a genuine smiled. Her first in months.

"Me too." She said.

"So where are you staying and for how long."

"I'm staying at a hotel. I forgot the name but I do know that it's three blocks from here. And to answer your second question, I'm staying for four weeks."

"That should give us enough time to catch and for me to show you around. Trust me, you're going to love this place."

"I already love it."

"Come on, I can drive you to your hotel."

"Thanks. Say what are you doing here anyways."

"I was dropping off a friend."

"Oh!"

"Well come on."

Once they were settled inside the air-conditioned car, they once again engaged in conversation. They had so much to tell each other. So many questions that needed answers. So many things left unsaid. They didn't know where to begin.

They arrived at the hotel and Kurama brought her suitcase inside for her. He waited in the lobby while she went to checked on her reservation. Kurama couldn't believe his good luck. He had actually found Botan or rather she found him. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were together again and he had to find a way to keep them together for as long as she was here.

Ten minutes later, she returned with a forlorn look on her beautiful face.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I have no place to stay."

"What do you mean?"

"My room was given to someone else."

He knew that it's wrong to be happy at someone else's expense but right now, he was one lucky man. The perfect opportunity to have Botan near him had literally drop on his lap.

"You can stay with me." He offered.

"Really? You won't mind."

"Of course not. I would love to have you as my guest."

"I don't know if I should call you 'My knight in shining armor' or 'my guardian angel.'"

"Just call me your best friend."

She smiled.

"Come on. I'm sure you're tired."

Author's note: A present from me to me.