Disclaimer: Nah. I don't own it. Cos if I did, Hiei would get all the sweet snow his little midget heart desired!
Botan stood from her seat and allowed Kuronue to lead her from the table and across the dance floor. As they passed through the swaying people, she noticed many pairs of eyes glaring evilly at her, several of whom belonged to women who had been turned down by Shuichi, to which she smiled amiably. When they approached the table, Kuronue raised a hand to snap his fingers loudly, causing his group to turn their attention to him.
"Leave," he demanded simply.
"Hai!" they all answered in unison as they scrambled out of their chairs and away from the table. Kuronue stepped aside to motion for Botan to sit down right across from Shuichi. He then sat next to him.
Shuichi eyed Botan with interest, taking delight in the fact that she could hold his gaze unwaveringly.
"I assume my friend Kuronue has already told you my name..." he drawled with a lazy smile. Botan nodded.
"Yes, Mr. Minamino, he did," she said casually.
"Then that just leaves me with the query of your name," he said.
"Botan Hasaki," she said. She looked at Kuronue, who was oddly grinning from ear to ear. "Your friend is quite the charmer. He conned me out of my anger." Shuichi smiled wider.
"Yes, and he can con you out of a lot more, if given the chance," he said. Kuronue turned to frown at Shuichi, which he ignored. Then he rolled his eyes over to Botan.
"Don't listen to him, Miss Hasaki. I could never bring foul onto a woman with such beauty as your own. Besides he is the fox amongst the two of us..." he said as he smiled warmly at her. Shuichi shook his head and chuckled, leaving Botan utterly confused about the odd analogy.
Just then a young, slender woman dressed in a black tuxedo approached Kuronue from behind and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. He nodded and waved her away. Then he stood and bowed politely.
"Excuse my rudeness. I have an important matter to attend to," he apologized. He stretched his arm to reach for Botan's hand, which she gave him with the intentions of shaking it. But he surprised her when he gently flipped it over and brushed his lips across the surface of it and then gave it a small squeeze.
"It was a pleasure to meet you. Until we meet again, as I have a feeling we will very soon," he said. Then he looked back at Shuichi.
"Duty calls," he said with a wink in his direction before he turned to leave. Botan watched him as he took large, brisk steps across the room, skillfully stepping around the dancing people. After he had walked up the stairs and through the doors, she looked back to Shuichi, who, strangely enough, was already watching her. She blinked uncomfortably.
"What?" she asked as she fidgeted nervously in her seat. Shuichi pursed his lips and folded his hands on the table.
"You know," he burred, "you were one of the only women here that hasn't approached Kuronue or myself." Botan shrugged.
"So?" she snorted.
"It just strikes me as odd, is all," he sighed. Botan cocked her head to the side, her lips pursed in confusion.
"Excuse me but, what are you talking about?" she asked. The arrogantly handsome redhead rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.
"Almost every woman in here has approached me to make a... proposition of sorts. But not you. Why not?" he said. Botan's eyebrows slowly shifted to a furrow.
"Could it possibly be that I'm not like those women? Or... even that I'm not interested in you?" she countered. Shuichi leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs and draping his arm across the back of it.
"That's really funny," he laughed. "But really, Miss Hasaki, are you married, involved?" Botan scrunched her face distastefully.
What the hell was he on that had him feeling so high and mighty?! Helium?!
"...The hell? No, I'm not married!" she exclaimed angrily. Shuichi arched an eyebrow.
"Gay, then?" he questioned, a bit of intrigue attached to his voice. Botan bit her bottom lip. She hadn't known this man for more than three minutes and already he was on her nerves.
"I don't see where that's any of your business," she said slowly. Shuichi nodded slowly, jutting his lip out in contemplation. Then he grinned.
"So, you're gay then, huh?" he asked. Botan's jaw clenched as she felt her anger begin to fester to a near untamable level. Deciding that the best course of action to follow would be to leave, Botan rose from her seat, pushing her chair out as she stood. She put her hands on the flat surface of the table and leaned over, her eyes smothered in unmasked hostility.
"You are a certified asshole," she forced through clenched teeth before she turned to stomp away from the table. She headed for the door, pushing people aside to get through. She didn't care how she got home. She didn't care that she had only been there for an hour, she was fed up with those uppity snots, anyhow. She wanted to leave. Halfway across the dance floor, the angry detective felt a hand firmly grip her elbow, halting her walk. She turned around sharply and scowled, ready to curse him out. That is, until he spoke, a small smile attached to his face.
"I was only joking," he laughed. Botan yanked her arm away.
"Well I don't think you know me well enough to joke with me that way," she snapped, trying to keep from raising her voice. Shuichi nodded.
"You're absolutely right. So why don't we start over? Dance?" he said, holding out his hand. She looked down at it and shifted her weight to one foot nervously.
"I don't know... how," she mumbled reluctantly. Shuichi laughed softly.
"It's okay. You'll hardly have to do anything. I'll lead, you just follow," he told her reassuringly.
Botan looked down at his hand once more. Then she quickly glanced around them. Well, they were standing in the middle of a large group of dancing people. She looked back at his face, her eyelids closed to narrow slits.
"I'd better not feel your hand creeping across my ass," she told him seriously. Shuichi nodded.
"Of course not. I'll be a good boy," he teased. Hesitantly, she lifted her hand and slowly reached toward his; Much too slowly for his tastes. He reached out quickly, meeting her halfway. He pulled her close to him and she instantly tensed in his arms. He looked down at her face to see it was set in a stern mask.
"So serious," he teased. Botan looked up to meet his gaze and almost got angry again. Even his eyes seemed to be laughing at her.
"You and your friend sure do like making fun of people, don't you?" she quipped. He chuckled as they began to sway to the music.
"You know, it's not usual for me to chase after a woman..." he told her quietly. She sighed.
"Lucky me," she said dryly.
"... but that amusing look you sent my way had me intrigued," he continued as if she hadn't said anything.
"I would hardly call it amusing," she replied. Shuichi tilted his chin in a thoughtful manner.
"No... cute, more like it," he said. Botan rolled her eyes. She was tired of people saying that.
"Anyway, I saw those curious eyes of yours watching as those women approached me--"
"I wasn't really watching you," Botan lied, "I was counting how many dumb-clucks approached you."
It became quiet between the two and she was very grateful for that. She did not want to get into a discussion over why she was watching in the first place. It was already odd for her to be dancing with him. He was a very intimidating character, she decided. Really, just being around him was overwhelming her, though she was trying hard not to show it with her smart remarks and snapping comebacks. They weren't too close as they dance, so he couldn't feel how rapidly her most vital organ was pounding in the cage of her chest, and for that she was also grateful.
The melodious composition of the small orchestra wafted softly about the room, setting her at ease somewhat. Every now and then she would give him a fleeting glance, just to see his expression, but he would never be looking at her. He seemed to be looking at everything but her, his evergreen eyes scanning the vicinity of the vast ballroom.
His eyes, she noticed, were very absorbing. It seemed as if they were interested in everything, carefully taking in all as he gazed out. It was hard to look into them for long periods of time without feeling self-conscious, as if he could gauge her with a single glance. But she had managed to hold his gaze and, for some reason, felt a small sense of accomplishment in doing so.
"So, what line of work are you in?" Shuichi asked, his soft, yet, deep voice stirring Botan from her contemplation.
"What?" she said. He looked down at her, angling his head as if in thought.
"Some sort law enforcement, I gather," he said, more so to himself than to her. Botan smirked.
"Let me guess: Intuition?" she said sarcastically. Shuichi shook his head slowly.
"No," he said, raising their linked hands to brush his thumb lightly along her cheekbone, "bruises."
Despite the fit of unease that quickly settled itself within the pits of her stomach, Botan smiled. She wanted to burst out laughing at the look of seriousness that overcame his face, but decided not to comment on it.
"He punched you?" he asked curiously.
"Nah," Botan laughed. "Just a head-butt. Then he kicked me when I was down, but I got this beauty of a bruise when my face knocked against the pavement." Shuichi's eyes narrowed.
"He is truly a coward," he said evenly.
Botan studied his face for a moment, wondering what had brought on this bout of sincerity to someone he didn't even know. Even though he had managed to thoroughly piss her off within five minutes of their meeting, she guessed that he considered himself a gentleman. He had stayed true to his word about keeping his hands above her waist and even made sure he didn't hold her too close for her comfort. And, from his statement, he was most probably very polite to women. But still, before she let her guards down, she had to give him a hard time. It was just who she was.
"Oh? And just how do you define yourself?" she asked him, eyebrow raised suspiciously.
"...I don't. I am who I am, which, in it's many complexities, cannot be defined. I don't live by a title or titles, and I don't care what others think of me... unless they are the ones who are closest to me," he said, his eyes holding such seriousness Botan had to smother a shiver.
"And how do you describe yourself?" he said, a hint of a smile tracing his lips.
"Well..." Botan began, biting the corner of her lip.
She had never really thought about it. To be honest, no one had bothered to ask her a question like that, so she had never spent much time on it. She had always known who she was, but didn't put it to words. She just knew; it was just in her. She smiled.
"I'm..." she began with a breathy laugh, "I'm... what every female cop sees their self as... A hard-talking, drama-loving, trigger happy regulator."
"Somehow, I think that there's much more to you than that. In fact, I know there is," he said confidently.
"Is that so? And how do you know that?" Botan asked curiously. If he hadn't had her full attention before, he was the center of her universe now.
"Because," he said with a sigh, "there's more to everyone. Every last person on this planet hides things. Even when you're married, there are certain things that will remain hidden until the day you die. And that's the way it's supposed to be. Now I'm not saying everyone has their own dirty little secret that they will take to their graves, but there is a sense of security you get when you know you can treasure something totally personal without having to tell a single soul. Don't you agree?" Botan nodded her understanding, impressed by the stimulating conversation he managed to strike up. She wanted to talk some more.
"Hey, let's sit and talk. I have a one-track mind. I can't dance and speak at the same time," she joked. He only nodded, relinquishing his hold on her to lead her towards the stairs of the entranceway.
All the way across the room, Yusuke slowly danced with the woman from earlier, whose name he had come to learn was Lira. He was having a rather good time and enjoying himself with her. She had let his hand creep down to her bottom, she had a nice personality, and although he knew it was phony, she laughed at his stupid jokes.
They swayed slowly to the music, cheeks pressed together as they moved. Then she stopped her movement to stand on her toes and whisper seductively into his ear, to which Yusuke replied with a wide, lecherous grin. In fact, it was so wide, that if it had spread anymore, it would have surely split his face in two. He lifted his head to peer around the room for Botan. Upon spotting her, he nodded to Lira.
"Sure, just let me got and tell my partner I'm leaving," he said. Lira groaned cutely and poked out her bottom lip in a childish pout. Yusuke shook his head and smiled.
"I'll be right back. I promise," he said as he stepped away from her. He made his way through the crowd and towards the stairs where Botan sat chatting merrily with... someone. When he reached her, he frowned when he realized it was the pretty boy he had caught her staring at earlier.
"Botan."
Botan looked up in surprise, then smiled when seeing it was none other than her partner.
"Yeah, Mesh? What's up?" she said cheerfully.
"I'm leaving the ball early. I've been invited to a more... private party," he told her. Her smile fell.
"What? What do you mean? You're leaving me here?!" she asked a little hysterically. Yusuke shrugged apologetically.
"Sorry, but... yeah, that's what it looks like," he replied, looking at his wrist for the time.
Botan's jaw clenched instinctively as her blood beginning to boil beneath her skin. Her face flushed instantly, her eyes screaming betrayal.
"Yusuke, you can't just leave me here, you prick!" she told him angrily. Yusuke opened his mouth to defend himself, but was interrupted by Lira when she approached him from behind.
"So you already to go?" she asked him as she slipped her mink coat on and fluffed out her hair. He nodded and held his arm out to her. Botan rose slowly from her seat on the stair.
"You horny little bastard! Out of all the lowly things... You bring me to this ball, which I didn't want to attend in the first place, mind you, then dump me, twice, to be with some easy-as-pie, floozy ass, trampy skank!" she yelled earning a glare from Lira.
"Hey!" screeched Lira defensively. Ignoring her, Botan took a step down the stairs towards Yusuke.
"You simple minded son of a bitch..." she growled angrily. Yusuke rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.
"Botan, I thought I told you that this wasn't a date?" he said to her. Botan bit her lip hard and clenched her fists at her sides in unleaded anger.
"You idiot! I never said this was a date! Just how the hell am I gonna' get home?!" she hollered, causing several heads to turn her way. Yusuke looked thoughtful for a moment before he dug into his inside pocket. Then he reached over to grab her hand and stuff a twenty dollar bill in her palm.
"Take a cab," he told her. Botan looked down at her hand with her jaw slack in disbelief. Then she looked back up at him with renewed anger in her eyes. She clenched her fist again, crumpling the money in her palm. She opened her mouth to shout more obscenities at him when she felt a hand lay gently on her shoulder. She turned her head to look up at Shuichi, who was looking at Yusuke.
"Your money won't be needed. I'll take her home," he said casually. Then his eyes shifted down to Botan.
"That is, if you'd prefer it..." he told her. Botan could only nod slowly, shocked to silence by his offer. Shuichi nodded quickly and pulled a phone from his pants pocket.
"Jude? Yes, it's me. Pull the limo around front, would you? Bye," he said before he closed the phone and put it back in his pocket. Yusuke only shrugged, trying to put on a front of indifference. Shuichi looked back down at Botan.
"Would you like me to get your jacket for you? Our ride should be pulling up shortly," he asked her politely. Botan only nodded again, still in a haze of surprise. Shuichi nodded and walked away to retrieve her jacket. She watched him as he walked away smoothly then turned back to Yusuke. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly, shifting his weight to one foot. Lira, on the other hand, beamed up at Botan.
"He's a keeper," she giggled with a wink.
"Okay. You can stop the stunts now. I'll drop you off at home," he said, ignoring the whimper of disappointment that came from beside him. Botan cocked her head in mock confusion, her cerulean coils bouncing as she did so.
"Stunt...?" she said in a clueless manner.
"Don't be this way, Botan. You leave me all the time!" Yusuke exclaimed.
"But there's a difference!" Botan said pointing a finger in face, "I leave you to protect you, not for a piece of ass! Major difference!"
"Botan..." Yusuke groaned, wiping a hand over his face.
"No! I don't want to hear it from you, Yusuke. There's nothing you can say to me right now that will get me to see things your way, you damn traitor," she said harshly.
"Miss Hasaki... our ride is here," Shuichi called from the top of the stairs.
With one more glare directed to her partner, Botan shook her head then turned to go up the stairs. Shuichi assisted her in putting on her jacket and then put on his own black trench. Then Botan whirled around reeling her arm back as if to throw something at Yusuke. But a thoughtful expression crossed her face and she instead opened her palm, revealing the crinkled twenty. She straightened it out as well as she could then looked up at Yusuke. She waved it at him with a smirk then stuffed it into the pocket of her trench and whirled around to walk down the hall towards the door. Shuichi watched her as she left, then turned back to Yusuke with a smile on his face. He bowed politely and chuckled a little before he too exited.
Like the gentleman he presented himself as, Shuichi opened the door for Botan, who blushed due to the fact that she was unused to such hospitality. He then went to the other side of the limo and let himself in. Once his door was closed, he motioned towards the chauffeur to begin driving. Botan turned to look out the window, eyeing the bright street lights as they passed by. The car was silent as Shuichi watched Botan watching the street. "So," he said, his voice causing her to look at him, "You and that man... are you two... intimate?"
Botan blinked, the color draining from her face embarrassedly.
Did he just ask...?
Gathering her wits, Botan shook her head quickly.
"What?! No! Absolutely not! What on earth possessed you to ask such a... personal question like that anyway?!" she nearly screeched. Shuichi shrugged, a smile sliding across his handsome face.
I don't know. I usually just say what pops head. My mother always taught me to speak my mind," he replied quietly.
"Well, one day, you're going to ask the wrong person the wrong thing and end up getting your pretty little ass kicked..." she told him. It was quiet for a moment as the two looked at each other, then Shuichi's smile grew devious.
"You think I'm pretty...?" he asked her teasingly, causing Botan to fidget uncomfortably in her seat. She shot him a dark glare before rolling her eyes to look out the window and muttering:
"Shut up."
"Would you like me to walk you to your door?" Shuichi asked as they pulled up in front of her house. Botan opened her car door then turned to look at him, a dubious expression on his face.
"Uh, listen. Thank you for the dance and all, and I really appreciate this ride... but I don't intend to--"
"Strictly platonic. No ulterior motives. Promise," Shuichi clarified quickly. He knew what she thought. She thought he was going to try and get some... compensation. Botan looked at him warily for a moment then sighed. Maybe he really was a gentleman. Besides, if he tried to get fresh with her once they reached her porch, she could just kick his ass.
"Yeah, okay, whatever," she muttered as she exited the limo then closed the door behind her. She waited for Shuichi to come from around his side and joined her before she began to walk up her walkway to the porch. They reached the door and she turned around to face him. She coughed nervously as her cheeks began to warm. She never was good at this sort of thing...
"So um... do you want to call me sometime...?" she mumbled, looking down as she shuffled her feet nervously.
Due to surprise, Shuichi laughed aloud, and Botan could feel the disappointment beginning to sink in. In truth, he was not laughing at her. He was utterly caught off guard by her question, being as she didn't strike him as the type that would be comfortable with willingly handing her number to a man she had just met an hour prior. And the thing was, she didn't know what possessed her to do it, either. When it came down to dating, Botan was very picky about who she gave her number to. But it was something about this man...
"Yes, I would love to," he chuckled, delighted to find that she was interested in him. Botan smiled up at him, a girlish giggle threatening to escape. Of course, she had to put that in check, coughing to cover up and putting on her cool exterior.
"Um, yeah, that would be nice... er, here," she said, pulling out a pin from her pocket and motioning for his hand, which he gave her. She hurriedly wrote her number down then turned to open her door. She turned back around to smile and wave goodnight before going inside and closing the door.
Shuichi smiled to himself as he watched her close the door, not missing the rouge tint that had crept up on her cheeks. He turned to stride back to his elongated ride, all the while peering down at his hand. Once back inside the limo, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. It rang three times before the voice of his partner answered.
"Moushi?"
"Kuronue?" said Shuichi. He heard an exasperated sigh from the other line before his friend replied:
"You know it is."
Ignoring his tone, Shuichi chuckled to himself, still studying his hand.
"Did you take care of business?" he asked Kuronue.
"As always!" Kuronue said merrily, evidently proud of himself. "The middle man is officially eliminated. Now we have to--"
"I took her home," interrupted Shuichi with a sigh.
"Who? Miss Hasaki? I knew you could get her into your bed, you sly kitsune, you--"
"No, not like that, you perverse-minded fool. I gave her a ride to her home," Shuichi clarified.
"Ah... I see. But what of the man she attended with?" Kuronue asked, not at all bothered by the insults.
"Interesting thing, he left with some other woman, some woman who was nowhere near as beautiful as the woman he arrived with!" he laughed. "And it gets better. Not only did I make myself look good, but I made him look like an ass in the process. I just dropped her off."
"Well, did you get a kiss, a number, what?" said Kuronue impatiently.
"The latter. I'm not going to call her right away, though. I'll give her time to simmer. You know my ways..." said Shuichi with a sly grin that his partner could not see.
"What did you tell her your job was?" Kuronue said curiously.
"I didn't. She didn't ask," said Shuichi with a shrug.
"You know it will come up sooner or later, Kurama," Kuronue said. Shuichi smiled at the mention of his alter ego.
"Don't bet on it."
AN: ... XD
Miss me? Yes, I know, it's been a long two months. And believe you-me, it wasn't planned. I lost the disk I had saved the whole story on and when I found it, it was corrupted and I couldn't pull any of it up. So, I had to retype (much to my dismay, may I add) most of my story. I'm not done with it yet, but I'm getting there.
Oh yeah, buddy! Kurama's made his debut. Sorry it was so bland, though. I wanted him to come off as dark and mysterious, but it was just too hard. Thus, blandness!! And I know he was a bit... good in this chap, but let me assure you, he's as naughty as they get. Don't worry. We'll get there.
BlackBelt: Aw, poor Hiei! He's always due for a good glomping... Tell Botan I said thank you! She is, after all, the star. Yes, K/B does rule. It rules hard.
TsumeIshida: Okay, okay! Don't worry your pretty little head off. thank you for the review and thanx for the compliment! Here you go, sweetie!
GCN-anime-dragon: No, I'm not going to dump the story after all. I always contemplate dumping my stuff, then, like the day before I actually do it, my mind begins to go into overdrive with ideas. And yes, it is spelled Kuronue. But you're a little late on the warning, my friend. I realized my mistake about an hour after posting the second chap.
passionateangel: It's okay to be lazy... sometimes. At least you weren't too lazy to review! XD
Pokey the Great: Sorry, friend! I know, suspense kills. But it had to be done! And of course this is Kurama/Botan! Who else has the sexiest alter ego in existence?
Nasa ow/d Maxwell: ... .'' Ooooookay..."
Darkfiend: Alright! This is for you, luv!
Angelike Riddle: Well, this story is absolutely, positively in love with your reviews-- er, I mean, you! Yeah, I know it's cruel, but it has to be done. Suspense, suspense, suspense! Well, I say you've simmered long enough!
Lady of Roses: Aw, don't say that! I'm sure you're not at all bad. In fact, I've read your work! When are you going to finish 'Return Me to the Past', hmmm? ::evil glare::
Cwolf2: Hey, buddy!! Thank you, thank you. Your spelling is just fine, dear. I know who you were talking about so don't worry about it. I loved your update on 'The Business'. Now... go and update more!!!
psychopath143: Yes, Shuichi is lovely, isn't he? ::dreamy sigh:: Thank you for the review!
Volpone: Hullo, Love!! I'm glad you like! You know I do what I do for you... Don't we ALL love the raven? Well, not nearly as much as you, but you know. The sentiment is there.
Yes, I'm a bad, bad wabbit... ::evil grin:: You know I just had to do it!! As a master of the cliffhanger, YOU should know where I'm coming from. As for the plug, don't EVEN mention it. Everyone's reading your work, anyhow. I should be thanking you. Inserting Yusuke/Botan into a Youko/Botan fic just for me...
::sob::
It's utterly humbling. And at the risk of being hunted down and slaughtered by die-hard Kurama fans, too... Makes me want to break down and cry! In fact, I think I will! Excuse me...
Okay, you guys! You know what to do! Hit that damn button!!! REVIEW OR NO UPDATE!!! EVER!!!
PS: Keiko sucks big time bull dootie. Tee hee!!