At long last, it is HERE!!!
Little One: What took you so long?
Vacation! Prohibition! Lack of inspiration!
Little One: Ah, yes.
Now, I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho! Why must I say it again?
Little One: Can we just start the fic already?
Alrighty, then! Get ready for chapter three!
Chapter 3
"No! I won't!" Kurama said. Loudly. He clapped both hands over his mouth.
"Kurama?" It was Botan's voice.
{Moron! You blew your cover.} Youko laughed. Kurama, on the other hand was too preoccupied to listen. Botan was running up to him.
"Kurama!" Botan cried, throwing her arms around his neck. He just stood there, limp. "I haven't seen you in a while! How are you?"
"Um… I'm… fine…." Kurama stammered. By now, there were quite a few demons casting curious glances at the two as they passed by. Kurama could feel his face reddening.
"That's great! So, why don't the two of us get together tonight?" Botan looked at him with such a look of happiness and adoration that he didn't know if he could refuse.
"Um…"
{Say yes, say yes!} Youko was beside himself.
/Why not? I like her well enough, and if it'll make both of you happy…./ thought Kurama.
{Yes, we'll be VERY happy!}
/Not so loud! This is MY head, you know./
{Sorry…}
Botan was still looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat. "Sure. Where would you like to go?"
"It doesn't matter. Anyplace that we can spend some time together is fine with me!"
"How about…." Kurama said the first thing that came to mind. "The amusement park?"
{Ugh. You have to take her somewhere more special than that, you idiot!}
/Shut up. I wasn't thinking./
But Botan didn't seem disappointed at all. "That sounds like fun!"
"Great! I'll pick you up at….at…"
"How about five-thirty?"
"Fine with me. I'll see you then."
"I can't wait!"
Wishing to avoid any awkward moments, Kurama hurried off as quickly as possible.
He never did see Koenma.
As five-thirty approached, Kurama was growing increasingly nervous. What had he gotten himself into? He was about to risk some HUGE misunderstandings. Anything could go wrong. Anything!
{Stop worrying, Shuuichi. You'll be fine! I'll help you…}
/Heck no! You're the one who got me into this!/
{I know, but…}
Kurama sighed. He had never seen (or heard) Youko act this way, and frankly, he never would have thought him capable of it. But Youko was obviously ecstatic, and it was hard to try and deny him his happiness. He had spent most of his life in the Makai, after all.
{I'm sorry, Shuuichi. I don't want you to be upset. But, well, I…} Youko fell silent.
/You really love her, don't you?/
Youko didn't reply, and Kurama was left alone with his thoughts. Well, as alone as you can get with a demon in your head.
"Oh no! I'm late!" Kurama said, hurrying to get his hair combed. The flowing red locks were unusually tangled, and Kurama had been fighting for a half-hour trying to tame them. "Y'know, maybe I should just get my hair cut short," he muttered, tugging frantically with the comb.
{Hurry!} Youko was very annoyed.
/I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying….. there! Done!/
{About time…}
/Yes, yes. Now let's go!/
Luckily, Botan wasn't even fazed by Kurama's lack of punctuality. When he arrived and apologized, all she said was, "Oh, that's fine... As long as you're here, it's perfectly okay!"
Kurama blushed. He didn't know how to reply. "Well… shall we go, then?"
"Yes, let's!"
The first moments at the park were a bit awkward. Kurama was nervous enough already, and Youko's constant noises weren't helping. He was emitting a steady flow of commands, suggestions, and the occasional loud purr. The whole thing was a little too much to bear. But Botan carried the conversation, and soon they were talking and laughing, just like the first night they went out together.
"Kurama, let's go on that!" Botan said suddenly, pointing. Kurama looked in the direction of her finger. He had to look very far up, because she was pointing at the largest roller coaster he had ever beheld in his life. It was tall, and lime-green, with enough corkscrews, loops and large, looming drops to give a person a heart attack.
"Of course. Let's go." The words slipped out unintentionally again.
/Youko! You know I hate those things!/
{But Botan doesn't! C'mon, you have survived battles with the toughest demons in the underworld! You can do this!}
Botan took Kurama's hand and took off towards the entrance. Kurama managed to read the large sign before Botan snagged them a spot in line:
"APOCALYPSE:
The End Begins Here!
Warning: People with motion sickness,
pregnant women, and anyone over the age of 45
should NOT ride this attraction."
"Apocalypse? That means the end of the world, doesn't it?" Kurama asked. Botan nodded in excitement.
"Yeah! Sounds scary, huh? Oh, it'll be so much fun!"
"How long is the wait?" Kurama asked, hoping to keep her from describing various unsettling things like how many thousand-foot drops there were on the ride, or how many death-defying corkscrews you had to go through to finally reach the end.
"Hmm… About an hour."
"An hour?" asked Kurama. "Maybe we should wait until the line goes down."
"No, it will only get longer. An hour's wait isn't at all bad for a ride this popular." Botan said. "Unless, of course," she added, "you don't want to go on at all."
"Oh no, I do want to!" Kurama said quickly.
"Great!" Botan smiled.
They waited in silence for awhile, which made things worse for Kurama. He had nothing to keep his mind off of the terrifying experience that awaited him. Botan hummed a little bit, and that made him slightly more comfortable, but after fifteen minutes, he realized that something had to be done.
"Botan," he began, "Did you talk to Koenma today, after we saw each other at Reikai?"
{What are you talking about, Shuuichi?} Youko asked.
/I'm making conversation! Relax already. I don't want to hear another word out of you for the rest of this date, do you hear me?/
{As you wish…} With that, Youko fell silent.
"Why, yes I did," Botan replied.
"Was he…. Upset, at all?"
"No, why?"
"Well, I was supposed to meet him today, but I never did."
"Really?" Botan laughed. "No, he was in an exceptionally good mood, now that you mention it."
"That's strange. I thought he gets upset when someone doesn't show up when called for."
Botan started to giggle. "You're right! He usually throws a tantrum!"
"A tantrum?" Kurama started to laugh as well. "The ruler of the underworld throws tantrums?"
"I told you, he's not the ruler of the underworld, his father is. But if you said that to him, he's probably disagree!"
The pair laughed their way all the way through the line. The brightly painted cars were now visible, and Kurama was once again overcome by the desire to run away. Far away. His light skin turned an unhealthy shade of green. Botan looked up at him with genuine concern in her violet eyes.
"Kurama?" she said. Kurama blinked and looked around. He hadn't realized it, but he was already in the car! An operator was pulling the harness down over his head, and it clicked into place. He did the same for Botan, then moved on to the next car.
"Oh no…" he said, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Kurama, what's wrong?"
"Botan," he said, "I have a confession to make: I'm deathly afraid of roller coasters."
"Kurama! Why did you get on, then? Why didn't you tell me?"
"…Because….because…. Because I wanted to make you happy!"
"Oh, Kurama…." Botan leaned over, and, without warning, kissed him squarely on the lips. Startled, Kurama closed his eyes.
He didn't even realize that the car was rapidly descending…..
"Well, here we are." Botan stood in the doorway of her room. "I had a lot of fun tonight."
"Me too." Kurama looked at her. He didn't want to leave. Not now. And it wasn't because of Youko's influence. He was sure of it. The feelings he was experiencing were his own.
"Botan….."
"Yes?"
"I…. I love you."
Botan's eyes widened. Then she smiled another one of her beautiful smiles.
"I love you, too… Shuuichi."
To Be Continued…
Another chapter up…
Little One: And too many more to go!
Well, I dunno. I've finally got this story back on track! For a while, I didn't know where this story was going…. But now I know! Hee hee…..
Little One: Well, it better be good!
I hope it will be…. And I hope this chapter didn't totally suck, either! And thank you to all of you who reviewed! I love you people…. Oh, and as promised, here are reviewer specific responses!
To AnimeTrekkie: Thanks! I'm glad you approve! ;
To Lady Nightshade: I'm so happy you think it's a fun story! Hopefully I won't disappoint you!
To Angkat14: Yeah, I know the plot isn't all that great. ; Sorry! But thanks for the compliment!
To Anime-Crusader: Aw, thanks!
To Saiyan under cover: Thank you! Interesting, you say?Hope I can make it even better!
Little One: Doubt it…..
To ihateramenandschool: Really? You love it? Thank you so much!
To maria: Thanks! And don't worry, Shuuichi likes Botan every bit as much as Youko does!
To Remy2004: I'm glad you like it! Sorry it's taken me so long to update…
To shygurl: Thanks so much! I am so happy you think that!
To JDFielding: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really don't know what else to say, other than that I hope you're not disappointed!
To Aurora-cool: Thanks! But as for whether or not Youko and Shuuichi begin to compete for Botan's affections, I can't promise that they won't! But I hope you'll still like the fic!
To Lady of Roses: Thank you! Sorry the updates are taking so long! ; I'll try to get the next one up soon!
To yen-chan-27: Thank you so much! You don't know how much that means to me! I'll try my best to make sure it stays a good fic!
To morgannia: You really don't think it sucked? Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it!
To YYHsuperfan: Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I'll try to finish it!
To psychopath143: Well, here's another update for you! Hope you liked it!
To Volpone: Sorry it took me so long to update! Now you can rest easy! Oh, wait… It's not over yet! Well, I'm glad you liked it, and I promise to get the next chapter up soon!
To Botan and Kurama lover: Thanks! Yes, it is surprising that Yusuke can actually be smart…; I managed to put some fluff in this chapter- hope you liked it!
To rkfan246: Thanks! I'm so happy you like it!
To Disturbedvixen: Once again, sorry it took me so long! But here it is, with the requested Kurama/Botan interaction! And regarding your question about Youko- it's a combination of both love and lust, Youko really does care about her, though, and not just for her looks! Oh, and Yusuke's mom is Atsuko, not Akiko. The names are very similar, though.
To animegirl007: Well, here's an update for you! Hope it doesn't disappoint!
To IntraceableAlias: How nice of you to say so! Thanks soooo much!
