Thanks for the reviews! =^~^= If you're interested in seeing your name, review! If you've reviewed the last chapter, proceed to the bottom. Sorry, the pennames are supposed to be in bold, but for some reason, it doesn't show up. Lets try italics AND bold this time!
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A crowd of students had gathered around the bulletin early one morning. The achievement scores were posted. At once, the students expressed either their dismay or happiness.
"Yes! I'm ranking 31st!"
"Thirty first? You're so lucky! I'm in the hundreds. I don't want to take this thing again!"
Botan shoved through to look at the scores. She sighed. "Well, I'm number 23. That's not too bad," she said in a tiny voice. She looked up at the taller boy beside her. "What did you get? Prove to me that your kind is better than mine."
Youko, in human form, gave her a look before peering over the tops of a few students' heads. "How does this thing work?" he asked in a slight whisper.
"Find your name. Beside it will be the score you made with the your rank of the freshman and sophomores."
"Simple enough." Suichi, expecting nothing, began at the bottom of the long list to search for his name. "My name is Minamino, Suichi, correct?" he said doubtfully, staring at the list.
"Yes, why would you ask that?"
"I was unsure of the list. Perhaps my eyes are deceiving me."
"What are you talking about? Your grade can't have been much worse than mine!" Botan moved forward. "Excuse me," she said as she walked past the gathering to find Youko's human name. She ran her finger down the list. "Minamino…Minamino…" she muttered under her breath. "Here it is!"
The color drained from her face. "You…you made a 130%?! How did you get that extra credit question?!" She stared at the fox demon. "That question is something that's usually found on the MENSA exam! You actually worked that thing out?"
Suichi raised and lowered a shoulder. "It wasn't as complex as it seemed. After I read it over a few times, it was simple."
(Disturbedvixen: Incase you don't know, the MENSA test is a test for geniuses. Supposedly there's a club for the geniuses out there…I'm not sure, but that's what my psychology teacher said. * shrug *)
Botan blinked and looked at the board once more. "You rank number one in the sophomore and freshman grades combined!"
"Suichi! There's no way he's the smartest one!" Ami said in alarm, shoving through. "Matsuo has had the top scores since these tests even mattered!" Her lips moved as she read the names to search for Matsuo. She gaped at the board. "Everyone," she said in a loud, clear voice. The group of students grew silent. Ami turned to face the group. "Matsuo is no longer the top student. Suichi Minamino is."
A low rumble began among the students.
"Suichi Minamino? The cute one with red hair?" a girl whispered.
"Can you believe it? Cute and brainy! He's the perfect boyfriend."
"Yeah, but it's too bad that he doesn't notice we're alive," the girl added with a sad sigh.
Suichi turned for a moment to face the girls who spoke. He immediately regretted it. The girls all began to sigh and crowd around him. He held back the impulse to strangle them as they began to grab at his arms. "Excuse me, ladies, I need to do something important. There's something I forgot to do." He glanced back at Botan meaningfully and moved through the flock. Botan followed him.
"Feh, can you believe that tramp? How can she possibly believe that Suichi would find her to be a good match?"
"I know! That hair style is so yesterday."
Botan blushed with shame. 'Why can't I go through one day of school without regretting that I was born?' she wondered sadly.
Suichi gave her a sympathetic look and allowed her to walk in front of him. He observed several of the boys watch Botan walk down the hall.
"What does she see in him?" Matsuo said to his friend. He looked up at Suichi, his eyes twinkling with a saddened light. He cleared away his jealousy and met Suichi's gaze. "I see that I have to compete against you for the top rank now," he said smoothly.
Suichi nodded briefly. "Yes, I suppose so."
"But I don't want everything between us to be nothing but competition. Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Botan…and you…are you two…you know…dating?"
"Dating?" Suichi replied blankly. The syllables felt strange to him. 'What the hell does this word mean?'
"Yeah, dating. You know what I mean, right?"
"Erm…yes." Suichi hid his ignorance. 'Perhaps it's a human way to say someone is friends with another human. Why can't this species say what they mean?'
"Okay, good. I was wondering if you could ask Botan if she would go out with me…you know, if you two aren't dating. I'd ask her myself, but I don't get a chance too. Are you two dating?"
Suichi, not completely understanding what 'being friends' had to do with being with Botan, shrugged. "I suppose we are dating…in a way," he said slowly.
Matsuo's face fell. "Oh. I see. What do you mean 'in a way'?"
Suichi continued to consider each sentence before he spoke them. "We have our disagreements and misunderstandings."
"So you are dating?"
"Yes."
The girls that had called Botan a tramp turned. "You're dating Botan?!" one demanded.
"It's not that big of a deal," Suichi said angrily. "I'm sure you've all done the same thing at one time or another."
The girl blushed and looked away. "Of course I've dated guys before, but not with someone like you."
Suichi shrugged. "Maybe it could be possible. I don't mind dating more than one girl," he said ignorantly. 'What's wrong with the girls? If they want to be friends, why not ask? Silly females.'
She blushed a darker color. "I'd love to date you and I'm sure half the girls here would too, but not while you're dating Botan. Ick, that girl makes me so mad!"
Suichi shrugged. "It's your loss," he said easily. "Once I choose to date someone and they refuse, I don't bother to try again." He left.
Botan looked up at the fox demon. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing. That human boy…Matsuo asked me a peculiar question."
"Oh, really? What was it?"
"He asked if I was dating you." The slender shoulders raised and lowered. "Nothing important."
A gasp escaped the deity's lips. "Nothing important? This is very important! What did you say to him?! You better not have said yes!"
"I did say yes, for your information."
Her amethyst eyes widened. "Why in Makai did you do that?! I don't want anything to do with you that way! You're a cold-hearted monster!"
Suichi looked taken-aback. "Did you want people to think we were enemies? We live temporarily in the same house! Why can I not tell them that we are dating?"
"Go tell him that we're not!"
"We…aren't friends then?"
"Friends? I guess we're friends."
"Then why should I tell him otherwise?"
"What…? I don't understand…oh, I see. You don't understand what it means do
you? Dating is a…erm…it's a way to
practice knowing who the right person is."
The emerald eyes continued to look blankly at her. He didn't understand a word she was saying.
Botan sighed. "Okay, let's try again. You know what a mate is, right?" She continued when she got a nod. "Good. Dating is sort of like finding a mate. It's sometimes permanent, but most of the time it's temporary. In English, what you've just told Matsuo is that I'm your temporary mate. I am not your mate."
Suichi flushed. 'Why do I feel so angry with her for saying that? I don't care…or do I?' "Are you saying that I'm not good enough for you to be my mate?"
"Yes. Maybe I am saying that. What would I want with a murderer like you? Now what else did Matsuo say?"
For a moment, an answer didn't come. "He said for me to ask if you wanted to go out with him."
"M-matsuo? Wanting to date me? That's the best thing to happen to me! Oh, oh go tell him that we broke up or something."
Suichi bristled, feeling his Youko temper rise up inside him. "Go tell him yourself," he growled. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his uniform and strode away from her.
Botan blinked her large amethyst eyes. 'I wonder what I said to make him act like that.' She shook her azure hair from her face and approached Matsuo shyly. "Hi Matsuo," she said.
Matsuo pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose to study Botan's skirted appearance more fully. "Botan? Good morning. How are you?"
"I'm fine. Suichi told me that you two had been talking."
"Yes, but since you two are together, I won't bother asking you to the dance."
"Dance? I thought you…"
"Yes, I wanted to ask you out as well, but…considering the circumstances, I suppose this is only something like a dream." Matsuo's cheeks pinked. "I'll be on my way, then. See you in Geometry."
"Okay…wait!" Her shyness was temporarily forgotten. "I'm not really going out with Suichi. He didn't really understand what the word meant so he said that we were."
"Are you sure? Maybe that's what he really wants? Maybe he only wants to keep you from being with me."
"No, I doubt that. I could never have a chance with him. He's too…self-absorbed sometimes."
Matsuo's handsome features lit up with a smile. "Yes, I noted that when he spoke to those girls over there. Does this mean that you'll take up my offer?" He took Botan's hands into his. "Would you be my girlfriend?"
"Yes," Botan answered breathlessly. She tightened her hold. "But don't you care about what everyone else thinks? All the girls here say I'm a tramp. Are you sure you'd want someone to say something about me?"
"I couldn't care if they claimed you were a prostitute. You're mind now…I've wanted you for so long. When you came 3 months ago, I cared for you then, but when Minamino came a few weeks later, it seemed like the two of you were together." He hugged Botan to him. "But it seems so long ago…"
Botan closed her eyes and allowed herself to be pressed against Matsuo's chest. "I never thought that you would even think about me."
"You thought wrong." Matsuo looked into her eyes. "So will you go to the dance with me too?"
"Of course I will!" Botan said almost too quickly. She blushed. "But what about Suichi? I think he'd want to go too."
"Who cares? He's self-absorbed, right? Don't even think about him!"
"Um…okay…"
~~ On the Night of the Dance~~
Youko had his back facing Botan. He was still furious with her decision to date Matsuo…though he couldn't exactly understand why. He was sitting on the floor of Botan's bedroom. Behind him, Botan stood in front of the full-length mirror. Her slender frame was adorned in a silk lavender dress that she was given during her slavery in Makai. She looked breathtaking with the dress. Her hair was even done in a slightly different style. It was in ringlets, several of which curled at the sides of her neck. She touched her cheeks; they felt warm to the touch. "I'm blushing! Oh, this is going to be so exciting!"
She stepped gracefully in front of the sulking fox demon. "How do I look? Tell me the truth?"
Youko gave her a scrutinizing look and quickly cast his amber eyes elsewhere. "You look pink."
"It's lavender, but do I look good or bad…is my hair too curly? Maybe I should tie it up!" She fretted with her hair for a moment.
The fox demon scowled and stood. He took her hands from her hair. "You look gorgeous. Now run along to your human mate."
"Do I really look gorgeous? What would Matsuo think?"
"If he finds your form to be displeasing, then I would rather enjoy ripping his head from his disgusting body." He forced a smile and patted her awkwardly on the shoulders.
Botan, not sure if what he said was a complement or insult, decided to take the comment as positive. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thanks!"
Youko stiffened at the touch…still not used to having a female touch him purposely; he pried her off of him. "Now, leave me in peace. I want to hunt tonight without a fretting female to scold my actions."
"Hunt? You can't go and kill innocent people! You just can't!"
"It is my life and my criminal record, correct? I have a reputation to withhold. If I don't kill an innocent bystander, then word would get back to Makai that I have grown soft."
A frown creased the deity's brow. "But…I thought you said you wanted to turn over a new leaf and change to be a better person? What happened to that?"
"You," came a flat answer.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Nothing, nothing at all." He paused and looked at the door. His kitsune ears twitched wildly. "Someone is approaching. It's your mate."
Botan blushed. "He's not my mate. He's a boyfriend."
Youko smirked, sniffing the approaching scent of the human boy. "According to the flare of hormones I smell within him, it isn't exactly how he feels about you. He desires something more out of you." The smirk quickly left the handsome face. His face now featured worry. "Please, you need to decline his offer to go to this human interaction meeting." He took one of her hands with surprising gentleness.
"No! It's a dance and I'm not going to tell Matsuo I don't want to go." She wrenched her hand from the fox spirit. "I want to enjoy myself for a change! Even you can't screw this up for me!"
"But I—"
"Please," she said in frustration, "I've always wanted to fit in with the humans! If I have a normal time at the dance with Matsuo, it'll mean I won't be teased as much from the girls."
"You don't understand—" He began to say something but there was a knock on the door.
"Oh! He's here! Go hide or something until I leave!" Botan checked herself one last time in the mirror and hurried to get the door.
Instead of staying put in the bedroom, Youko crept silently to the door. What did he care if Matsuo found him? 'If he sees me, I'll enjoy separating his revolting face from his misshapen body…that's all he deserves for stealing my deity…the only thief that belongs here is me!' he thought as he crouched into his hunting mode. He blinked and sat back. 'S-stealing my deity? Where in Makai did that come from? I can't possibly care for this wench,' he argued with his thoughts.
He smiled. 'I don't…I'll only make her feel as if I'm the only friend she has in the world. When she melts enough, that will be when I kill her.' With that thought in mind, he resumed his spying on the two.
"You look beautiful," Matsuo said breathlessly. He took a step back and looked over his glasses to admire Botan more fully. "Superb…that dress brings out your eyes so well. And it makes you look all the more delectable…" He moved in, cupping Botan's chin to plant a kiss on her lips. The other hand trailed down the back of the dress to examine her bare back.
For a moment, Botan gave in to the insistent lips…but it didn't feel quite right. 'I'm not ready for this yet,' she admitted to herself. She faked a cough to escape the probing lips. "Sorry about that," she said in a falsely innocent voice. "Let's go." Before following him, she peeked her head into the house to check Youko's whereabouts.
Youko sat with childlike innocence with his hands on his robed knees. He smiled bitterly at her. His golden eyes plainly read, "Don't think I didn't see that act". He gave her a plaintive look—the final warning for her to refuse to go to the dance.
"Shoo," Botan whispered angrily and closed the door.
"Hm?" Matsuo looked back over his shoulder. "I beg your pardon?"
"Nothing. I didn't say a word." She took his arm and walked with him.
Youko sat forward, sniffing the air delicately. He wrinkled his nose. 'Urgh…putrid human…' he thought with distaste, sneezing at Matsuo's scent. He studied the doorknob thoughtfully. He never had the chance to try to turn the round object himself. Even the doors at school were either pulled or pushed. This was something he had never seen. After toying with the knob for several minutes, he finally realized that turning it was how the door opened. He smiled smugly. Indeed it paid to be a renowned thief sometimes.
He pulled the door closed behind him and stood. He closed his amber eyes and thrust back his silver mane to take in the scents of the fresh night air. A smile played at the corner of his lips. The sky was clear tonight…a hunt would be the perfect thing to do during a night like this…but…
The shadow of a smile left the eerily handsome face. Amber eyes opened and flickered down the street Botan and Matsuo obviously walked. His bloodlust ached for a fresh kill. The intoxicating scent of pain and fear would be wonderful combination with the fresh air…but something within his heart and mind declined. Something told him that Botan would be the prime concern tonight. The breeze toyed with Youko's silky silver hair as he considered whether to follow his heart or his blood thirst.
His ear twitched, picking up some sort of sound in the breeze: it was a faint giggle followed by a single word that made his hair stand on end with anger—"Matsuo…"
A deep growl rumbled in Youko's throat. He would follow Botan and kill Matsuo if need be. He slipped into his scarlet haired form and pursued the trail the two humans had left. His now emerald eyes glittered maliciously.
Killing Matsuo would be plenty to suffice his bloodlust if he did anything to Botan…
Youko studied the thought with a grimace. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he knew it felt right…if felt so right to be the one to protect Botan. It was as if it destiny had written the words on his very soul. Maybe Botan was someone worth feeling an infatuation for…
He groaned. 'Me of all people, falling for a worthless human/ It simply cannot be true.'
He gazed longingly down the path Botan had walked. 'But…even so, I know that it is true.' He frowned as he tried to discover why he found himself to be attracted to Botan. He wasn't sure if his more animalistic impulses wanted something from Botan as he sensed Matsuo did or if he truly loved her. With a sigh he thrust his hands into his pockets and walked down the street.
'I'll find out soon enough,' he thought with mixed emotions.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There now! You all heard…erm…read Youko's confession! He's not completely sure of whether or not he likes Botan for who she is, but maybe you'll find out in the next chapter! (Hint hint ) ^~^' So here's the people who reviewed last chapter in their respective orders!
~~deity of death1: You're the absolute first person to review! I hope you stick around for more! Most of the new people that have reviewed haven't really stuck around so I hope you do! Here's some candy for your review! I'm glad you enjoy it so far!
~~miyako14: According to my stats, you are the first person to review my new chapter. Thanks! It's ok if you can't update this weekend. I can't really say much with updating. I haven't updated Secrets Behind Emerald Eyes in like forever…but I'm soooooo stuck on that one. Have some candy to make you feel better!
~~Tesina Gela Gardner: Youko killing Botan? No, I don't think I'll have him do that. There will be a relatively happy ending, but I promise you, there will be an unexpected twist somewhere!
~~Dark Raxiel: Even if you do understand English, I still think it would be nice if I could say something cool in Spanish…but I won't embarrass myself. The thing on my computer won't let me put things like tildes up anyway. ^.^ Thanks for your review!
~~chocogurl: That's really nice of you to say such things! * blushes * But since I'm more of a pessimist, I still can't completely agree with you on me being a great authoress. Yes, Youko can be show-offy, and yes, we all love him very much! ^.^ See, I like Kurama the best partly because of Youko. Kurama is so sweet and innocent but with the Youko in him, he's evil too. Hiei is just plain evil. Hiei has his charm, but I think Kurama is my definite fav. good guy! Or is he a good guy? I mean, once you think about it, Youko is pretty evil…but then there's the whole Suichi thing.
~~KuramaandHiei4ever: Yup, I read your poem thingy. I reviewed too! I might take up your offer on the poem thing if I need one. Since I'm not much of a poet, I usually don't add poems, but if I do need one, I'll know who to turn to! Thanks for the review!
~~Tyedye/Rin: Well, you'll know the quote when you see it. I just need to remember exactly what it was so I can get it right and give you the proper recognition. I'm not a thief, so I ask just in case! Thanks for the compliment and review!
~~DarkAnimeChick: Yes, Botan is sort of afraid. She knows of Youko's reputation in the whole thing so she has her fears. But since Botan knows how Youko acted with the tweezers, she knows he's not completely tough. Thanks for your review!
~~Mourning Fox: Woah, maybe you shouldn't get any candy this time…if it makes you do that!!! Thanks for your review though! You're one of the few newsies that reviewed this fic and stayed with it so far! I appreciate it a lot!
~~Spooky Kitty: Yep, the girl was freaked. Thanks for your review.
~~Moonlite Goddess: It is pretty funny for someone like Youko to be a softy. I guess you can say that Youko is a softy. Not yet, but pretty soon he'll be mush. Won't that be fun?! Let's watch him squirm in disgusted embarrassment as he admits his heart's true desires to the simple human he has dubbed his deity.
~~kitty kat: * bows * I only live to serve my loyal reviewers! Thanks! Have some candy!
~~dragonbabe: I'm glad you like the chappy! Appreciate your review!
~~Fire Rose: He might do something drastic! You're just going to have to wait for the next chapter to find the 'drastic' part…if I think of something good…
~~orange09: Don't worry, Youko will be the one to confess his feelings. Like I said, he's trying to deny it, but he WILL be the first one. Trust me. I thought my fic was already kind of different from most people's fics. I mean, most people have Youko try to be too seductive. I try to mix humor in with the lethal. I tried, mind you. You want a lemon scene?! I might do one, but I've already have someone snitch on me for a lemon scene I had on a different fic and the entire chapter got kicked out. I'll get into slight details when the time comes, but not enough. Thanks for your review and I hope you stick around for more!
Like I said, thanks for reviewing and your name will be up again next time if you review!