Thanks for the reviews! =^~^= If you're interested in seeing your name, review! If you've reviewed the last chapter, proceed to the bottom. If you want to see your name up next chapter, then you're going to have to review this chapter! Goody-bags will also be given out!
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~~At the Party~~
The rhythm of the music echoed off the large gymnasium walls, creating the effect that the music was being played live rather than CD's being played. In the center of the gym, several couples were dancing. Some others stood near the punch bowl making conversation. A few people sat alone in the bleachers, looking longingly down at the dancing couples.
Among those who danced, Botan and Matsuo were moving easily to the music. The hem of Botan's lavender dress swished around her ankles lightly as she danced gracefully.
Matsuo beamed and matched her grace almost perfectly. "Where'd you learn how to dance?" he asked over the music.
"I'm not sure. Why?"
"Because you dance very well." He swung Botan around and placed both his hands easily on her waist, just in time for a slow dance.
Youko in his human disguise stood at the door of the gym. He began to pull open the doors.
"Oh! You're Suichi Minamino!" a girl screeched with glee.
"Yes, that is who I am." His hand once again went to the door.
"You can't go in there," she said.
"Hm?" He focused his emerald eyes on the two girls who sat at table in front of the door. "Why not?"
"You can go in there," she stuttered, attempting to try again. Very few girls could keep their hearts from melting at the sight of those gorgeous emerald eyes. "But you have to have tickets."
"Tickets?"
"Yep, and according to this list, you didn't sign up to get tickets or work on dance detail tonight. Even though you did win something…you'll get that tomorrow since you don't have tickets to go in. You can't go in there."
Suichi turned to study the features of the girls more fully, calculating the amount of Reiki he would have to emit to convince them otherwise. The girls were thin, plain, and obviously stereotypical blondes. This would be too easy. He placed his hands palm down on the table before them and leaned forwards slightly.
"So…" he said in a thoughtful voice, bringing his octave down to a silky purr. "I can't get in without a ticket…is that correct?"
"Y-yeah, that's right." The girl who spoke was beginning to turn various shades of red.
"Who's going to know I entered without tickets?"
"Well we'd know," the other girl said. Kitsune charm wasn't affecting her as much as it was her friend.
Suichi turned his charm more fully on this girl. "Of course you two ladies would know, but would you tell anyone on me?"
"No…never," she answered in a breathless voice. Her blue-eyed expression became a dreamy, glazed over look.
"Then you could possibly do something for me? It's just a small favor. I want to go in to see what a dance was like. I wasn't informed of it, you see and I've never been able to go to one of these things."
"Oh, poor thing…you can go in."
"Thank you," Youko purred.
"But—" the girl interrupted. She blushed, almost too amazed of her courage. "But you have to save a slow dance for me."
Her friend gasped. "Me too! Please!"
Suichi hid his grimace of disgust. "Of course." He pulled the door open, hoping that a slow song wouldn't be heard until he found Botan and dragged her home. As soon as the metal door swung open, the low rumbling of a slow song poured out.
The two girls grinned. "There's one now! It's half over, but at least we get a chance, right?" They both took Youko's hand and hauled him into the gym.
Both of them took one side of Suichi and forced him to move to the rhythm. To his surprise, the fox demon was able to find the beat easily and moved gracefully to it. He soon grew bored of the simple act of moving to the strange form of music. He took control of the dance and shifted around the gym to search for Botan and Matsuo. He could have sniffed her out, but the two human girls' raging hormones was causing his thoughts to whir uncomfortably.
"Come on, Matsuo, how long have you and Botan been dating?" a boy asked.
"Two months as of tomorrow," Matsuo answered promptly. He narrowed his eyes. "Why do you need to know, Reiji?"
Reiji offered a too-innocent-to-be-real smile. "Oh, no reason." His hazel eyes twinkled with a mischievous light.
Matsuo caught the look behind his eyes and tugged Botan safely beside him. He said nothing, waiting for Reiji to get to the point.
"Well, are you still 'pure'…if you know what I mean?"
Botan looked up at Matsuo curiously, hoping that he wouldn't know so Reiji could explain what it meant.
Matsuo blushed. "Yeah, but after the Snow Queen and King are elected, we're going to have that problem fixed."
"Problem?" Botan spoke up. "What's the problem that needs to be fixed?"
"It's nothing, my dear." He kissed her cheek as if she were a simple-minded child.
The slow song was over. The two girls that allowed Suichi to enter the dance groaned sadly. "Aw, it's over," one of them moaned. Suichi breathed a sigh of relief. The girls were far too close for comfort.
"Excuse me, but it's time to announce the Snow Queen and the Snow King," the principal announced through the microphone.
Everyone stopped to face the principal.
"Thank you, now please clear away from the makeshift stand and we'll announce them."
"Oh! I wonder who made it this year!" the girl beside Suichi said in an excited voice. "For the past few years, Matsuo and Hikari have been the Snow couples."
"What do you mean by the snow couples?" Suichi asked.
The girl looked up at him. "This is the winter dance. It's always a week before spring comes. The people decide who the best candidate for this is. There's a guy and there's a girl who'll be nominated." She smiled warmly. "Maybe you'll get it this year. You're cute enough."
"Erm…thanks," Suichi said distractedly. He looked around for Botan, still unable to pinpoint her scent among all the scents packed in a small area.
"Quiet! Quiet please! If you want to know who made it this year, please be quiet!" The principal waited until the only sound was the rustling of the girl's dresses. "Thank you. Now I'm sure that all of you will be amazed to see that the candidates have changed from what we are used to. The Snow Queen for the 2004 Winter/Spring dance is…"
The D.J. pressed a button, playing a drum roll from a tape.
"Botan…uh…" the principal squinted at the card. "Oh, the last name seems to be smudged out." He looked behind him at the staff. The counselor shrugged. "Well, there's only one Botan in this school, so it must be one of the newer students. Miss Botan, come on up."
Botan gaped at the principal. There was no way that she could be popular enough to make something as important as Snow Queen. Matsuo beamed, proud to see that his girlfriend was honored to have this position in the popularity race. He pushed Botan forward.
The deity walked forward, suddenly aware at how many people were in the gym at the moment. She walked up to the makeshift stand and flushed at the sight of so many eyes on her. The principal placed a silver tiara on her head. "Congratulations!"
Matsuo began to clap. Soon everyone followed his example. The principal waited for the applause to die down before taking another card from the counselor to read the name. "The Snow King for this year is…Suichi Minamino!"
The girl who had spoken to Suichi pushed him forward. "I told you!" she called after him.
As soon as the crown was placed on the scarlet head, the many girls began to cheer. "WE LOVE YOU SUICHI!"
The guys rolled their eyes but catcalled to Botan.
"As tradition calls for it, the queen and king must share a dance! Okay D.J. do your job!"
The music began. Suichi and Botan looked at one another, embarrassed. Suichi was the one to speak first. "You look like a jewel," he blurted out.
Botan flushed a darker shade of red. "Thanks." She looked up at him, her amethyst eyes full of warmth. "I guess we have to dance. I didn't think you'd want to come to this. Weren't you going to hunt something tonight?"
"Yes, but I had to come. I didn't want anything to have to happen to you." He took one of her hands and placed his free hand on her slender waist.
"What do you mean? What would happen to me?"
"I'm not sure. I just felt that I had to come…it's rather difficult to explain exactly what I mean." He swept her off of the stand and gracefully moved with her to the music. This time he didn't feel uncomfortable with female contact. He held her close. He closed his eyes momentarily, burying his face into her azure hair. His heart thudded strangely against his ribs. He felt so strange…but in a good way. Was this meant to be? "Botan…can I talk to you somewhere quiet?" he said without pausing to think.
"Hm?" She looked up. "I guess so. Let me make sure Matsuo knows." She began to pull away but she found herself pressed tightly against the fox demon.
"No, in private. I don't want that human to follow us."
"Well, can it wait? There's only about an hour or so left. We can talk then."
Suichi began to protest.
"Please? It's not much longer."
"I—" He smiled. "Okay, I'll wait. It isn't that important anyway." He would tell her later. At the moment, he only wanted to enjoy having her close to him. 'Why didn't I notice this before? She has such a sweet scent…' He didn't care if his thoughts and heart had softened at the very knowing of her being so close to him.
Reiji glanced over at Suichi and Botan, noticing that the next song had already begun. "Hey Matsuo, aren't the snow people supposed to dance only one song?"
Matsuo coughed on a mouthful of punch. "What? She's still dancing with him?"
"Yeah. What're you going to do now? Weren't you going to 'fix things' after the people were announced."
The plastic cup crumpled in his fist. "Yeah, I'm going to fix that problem right now. I told her to keep away from Minamino."
"Well there wasn't much of a choice in this. They had to."
"She could've said she needed to use the bathroom and excused herself."
"There is that…"
Matsuo threw the cup to the floor and stormed through the mass of dancing couples. "Botan!" he snapped.
Botan took one look Matsuo's furious expression and shrank against Suichi's chest.
"You can't hide against him. I told you to stay away from him…doesn't our relationship mean anything to you?"
"He's a friend of mine. What if I told you to stay away from Ami or I'd kill you?"
"I wouldn't take you seriously. You're only a girl. What can a girl do?" He marched up to Suichi and tore Botan from him. "Lets go home and talk."
"Uh…"
Matsuo's house was only a block away from the school. He pushed Botan through his front door and locked the door behind him. "Now what did I say about Suichi Minamino?" he asked in a gentle voice.
She didn't answer. She couldn't see him in the dark but wondered why he had locked the door and why he didn't turn on the light. "He's just a friend," she said quickly.
Matsuo smiled and stroked her azure hair. "It's okay, I'm not mad at you." He kissed her brow and ran his fingers down her arms. "I can't stay mad at you…"
"Oh, then can you let me go home? I have to do a few things."
Matsuo chuckled. "No, not now. You need to make up for what you did…I won't hurt you unless you fight me." He kissed her tenderly, ignoring the fact that Botan was pulling away from him.
"Leave me alone!" she snapped, pushing him away.
Matsuo scowled. "You do care for that Minamino guy."
"What? How can you…" Botan trailed off. 'Youko was actually sweet at the dance. Do I love him? Could I love him?'
"I don't care if you do. You're still my girlfriend. I bet Minamino's never kissed you like I do." He kissed her roughly.
Botan pushed him away again. Youko had never kissed her…but even if he had… 'I wonder if he'd hurt me like this…' She pulled away from him and dashed for the door. Matsuo caught her by the hem of her dress, dragging her back. The delicate fibers in the silk began to tear.
"I told you not to fight." He said this with an agitated sigh as he dragged her back. "Since your dress is torn, might as well take it off, right?" He grinned evilly and began to push her onto the floor beneath him.
Botan suddenly knew what his aim was. She kicked Matsuo as hard as she could…lets just say that the specific area she had kicked might not function well anymore, considering the fact that she also wore high-heeled sandals. (Yes, what you think is probably right since Matsuo is a guy. ^.^;)
Matsuo toppled onto his side, gritting his teeth. "D-dammit!" He curled into a ball, shuddering as waves of pain washed over him.
Botan gripped the tattered remains of her dress around her slender body, suddenly shivering. She groped the door, trying to find the doorknob in the dark. Her hand landed on it but it was locked! She felt downwards to find the lock. She began to turn it but the rest of her half torn dress was torn off.
"Damn you…I told you I would hurt you if you fought."
Her head hit the doorknob as she was pushed to the ground and pulled away from the door. Light seemed to flash before her eyes from the pain. She tried to kick out again but her legs and arms were pinned to the ground. She cried out. "Get your hands off of me!"
"Why should I do that? You should be devoted to me. I'm your boyfriend."
"Not anymore! It's over as of now."
Matsuo growled, lifting Botan's body then slamming it back down. "Shut up! You can't break up with me! Don't you know who the hell I am? No one breaks up with an Asakura! Not even you!"
Botan felt something wet on the back of her head. Dimly, she wondered if her hair was wet. She struggled feebly one last time before things began to darken.
(Should I leave it there? At a horrible cliffy? Don't you want to know if someone comes to save her from being raped or killed by this psychopath? Maybe I will let you scream bloody murder at me… Now scroll down and see my pretty pictures and what I've written after it pretty please! Don't kill me until you've done that!)
~~ =^.^= This is a kitty cat!
~~ =^~^= This is another kind of kitty cat!
~~ ^.^* I'm not sure what this is…
~~ @---',--- Pretend it's a rose, ok?
~~ . This is someone squinting I guess…
~~ --à This is sort of an arrow.
~~ X.X (x) eyes!
~~ 0.0 Wide eyes
~~ -.-' Sweat drop face!
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(Nah, the cliffy won't start yet! Don't kill me yet! Read more! Then you can check out who reviewed last chappy! Was I really gonna leave it there? Yes, but I wanted to get Youko in before I left. And if you did end up killing me, what good would it do? That would only mean you couldn't see the end!)
Amethyst eyes opened to a white surrounding. The first sound she heard was running water. She struggled to sit up but found herself too weak to do so. She barely had the energy to shiver, which was what she was doing at the moment. The sound of water suddenly disappeared.
"Ah, you're conscious again. I was wondering if that putrid human had killed you. You didn't smell dead so I brought you back."
The voice was a velvety purr that only one person could possibly possess. Youko. A strong pair of arms lifted her gently into a sitting position. "Where does it hurt? I've healed the wounds on your head…if there's anywhere else that you hurt, let me know."
"N-no…I'm fine. I just hurt…" Amethyst eyes closed tightly as she placed a hand on her sternum.
"Where? Did he bruise you there?" Youko took her hands away to inspect the spot. He moved his fingers along the bone to inspect the skin, feeling if there was any softness that showed broken arteries or the uneven edges of broken bones. He frowned. "There isn't any wound there…does it hurt?"
"Not my skin. My heart hurts. I trusted Matsuo and he just…treated me like I was something below him at the last minute." She looked into the golden hued eyes. "How did you get there?"
"I was attacked by females but I managed to enter his house before he could…erm…desecrate you, so to speak."
"Then he didn't…"
"No, he didn't get that far into his tactics. I took you away before that. Now get into the large hallowed stone and wash the stench of human off of you."
"Hallowed…what?"
"The thing you clean yourself with."
Botan looked. "Oh, the bathtub! Don't you use that thing?"
"I don't need to. As a fox spirit, there are certain oils in my skin that keeps me clean. Amazing how primitive humans seem to be even though they have evolved the world around them."
"I don't know if I have the energy to get in and I don't want you to help me in there." She flushed, not wanting to have Youko's inspecting eyes on her body more than necessary.
"Feh, as if I haven't seen a female's body before," he scoffed. "What makes you believe that your form is any better than that of a demons? Might I remind you that most demons have developed a well-developed figure because of our lifestyle? Get in. You won't disgust me anymore than you have with your association with the human boy."
Botan blushed further, clutching the robe Youko had put on her closer to her body. "I…I don't want you to think I'm ugly," she admitted in a small voice. "And from what you've said about demon girls, I know I'll just be ugly to you."
The fox demon's handsome features softened. "I don't find you to be ugly. You're a deity in my eyes…a goddess. If you want me to leave, then I'll only have to obey your wishes and allow you to enter the water on your own." He got off of his feet and moved to the door. He turned momentarily. "I could hide behind the door and allow my Death Plant to help you into the tub. They don't have eyes and they can't speak. I won't see anything."
"I can do it myself. Just let me bathe myself." She made sure Youko had left the bathroom before she dropped the robe and got inside the bathtub. She sank into the warm water, amazed that Youko had figured out how to put water in the tub and even put the bubble bath liquid into it. She closed her eyes, feeling her coldness and fear ebb away. The water felt wonderful.
When the water began to get cold, Botan stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel. She shuddered as she looked at herself in the mirror. What Matsuo did would leave a permanent scar on her soul. Because of it, she didn't know if she would want to be with another male in a long time.
"Botan? Are you done?"
"What? Yes, but don't talk to me. I want to be alone." She entered her bedroom and dug into the bottom of her dresser drawer, searching for some sort of nightclothes. She looked up at the corner of the room.
Youko sat there calmly, inspecting her every move and testing her emotion in the air.
"Look, I know you're trying to be nice and everything, but I really need some time alone. I don't want to see a guy for at least 24 hours."
A faint smile creased the fox demon's face. "Perhaps your opinion will fade of the male kind. I am different from most."
"I know that much." She sighed in exasperation. "If you have to be a foot away from me can you at least wait? I want to put on some clothes!"
Youko sniffed indignantly and crept out of the room with cat-like grace and attitude. He returned when he felt sure that Botan had finished changing. He crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed her under his silver bangs. "How do you feel about the turn of events?" he asked.
"What turn of events?"
"Your beloved Matsuo turning out to be an extremely hormonal boy who only saw you as an outlet for those uncontrollable hormones." He spoke these words bitterly, as if speaking Matsuo's name in a sentence condemned the words to something only Satin himself would come up with.
"I…I don't know."
"You must feel something."
Botan spun around. Her patience suddenly snapped. "And why exactly do you have to know? Since when have you cared about how I feel or what I want?"
The words seemed to have struck a chord within the fox demon. He wrinkled his nose for a moment. "I am unsure as to the precise moment I began to care…and I am equally unsure as to why. You are a human after all and I am a powerful demon. It makes no sense to me."
She had expected to hear some sort of smart-ass comeback, but this…this was completely unexpected. "What's that mean?"
It was now Youko's turn to heave an exasperated sigh. He held an arm out, beckoning her to come closer. When Botan hesitated, he smiled. "I won't harm you. If I truly wanted to, don't you think I would have done it already?"
Naturally, this was true. Botan moved doubtfully closer to him and sat beside him on the floor. She cringed instinctively as Youko drew her closer to him. Her head now lay on his chest.
"Listen. What do you hear?" he said gently.
The amethyst eyes blinked in wonder. She didn't know exactly what she was supposed to be looking for. In the still air, she could hear the two of them breathing. "I…can hear you breathing," she said uncertainly.
"Yes, but what else?" He wrapped his arms gently around her, stroking the azure hair. He was aware of his heart beating faster as he felt Botan soften against his touch.
Then Botan heard it. "I can hear your heartbeat…" She listened in amazement. The pause between each heartbeat was barely noticeable. It almost sounded like a long, dull thud. "Wow…it's fast…"
"My heart beats faster than that of a humans because of my usual life in the wild. Even so…this is nothing compared to what it normally is. You see, my heart…it's beating for you now."
(That quote, folks, is all thanks to Tyedye/Rin. I found it sort of strange an unusual so I added it to my fic with her permission! Now throw candy at her! It's all thanks to her that this chapter is so long. I wanted to add this quote to this chapter so I had to make everything just right!)
Botan jerked out of Youko's grip, ignoring the fact that it was hurting Youko. "It's beating for me?"
He gave her a faint nod, confused by her reaction. He didn't know if this was good or bad. Since she wasn't smiling with relief or something similar, he took it as a bad reaction.
"You…you're an evil jerk!" she cried out.
"I'm a what? I-I've done nothing…this time…"
"Why are you doing this? Tonight of all nights?" She slapped his hand away. "How can you even say that? It's not funny!"
"Of course it isn't funny…it's true!"
She shook her head. "Yeah right! You're a Makai thief—one of the best…a legend. Why would you choose some human slave girl like me?" She quivered with anger. "You are heartless. I don't want to see you. Just leave. Go back to Makai or find someone else to torture."
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MWAHAHAHA! A cliffy!
Here's the people who reviewed last chapter in their respective orders!
~~Moonlite Goddess: First to review! Feel special? * dumps basket of goodies on your head * You found it romantic? Thanks! Soon there will be mushy goodness that I'm sure a lot of you are dying to read! Thanks for your review!
~~Botan and Kurama lover: I think Botan and Kurama/Youko make a good couple too. I like BotanxHiei too but when you actually see the two of them in anime, Hiei is half Botan's height. Reading HieixBotan fics are better than actually imagining the two of them together. Really, what girl wants a guy shorter than them? But for KuramaxBotan, Kurama is the perfect height for Botan! When they stand face to face or when it gets intimate, even in anime you can imagine that her head is at Kurama's chest level! See, it's perfect! All she has to do is lean against Kurama and she'll be able to lean on his chest. ^.^ Whoo, that's kind of a long acknowledgement… thanks for your review and feel free to have an "acknowledgement Goody-bag"
~~ Lifeless-Kanna: I appreciate the complement! I checked your bio to see who you are and I saw how many reviews you got for your fics! ^.^ You're doing very well! That's a whole lot better than I'll probably ever do! I'm glad to have someone of your reviewer status to be reviewing something as worthless as my fic! Here's an acknowledgement Goody-bag!
~~Dark Raxiel: Erm, okay so 'gracias por el review'…. is that right? Did I screw that up? Well, I'll say it in English! Thanks for your review and have a goody-bag!
~~miyako14: Thanks for the review! Spring break is only for 2 days for me….next week for Thursday and Friday. Then I have Monday off. If I don't feel lazy I'll do some major updating. Hopefully I'll get a flash of insight so I can update Secrets behind Emerald Eyes…but I'm so stuck on it! ^.^' Have a goody-bag for your review!
~~KuramaandHiei4ever: Maybe Youko is insane, but you have to admit that he's a cutie for an evil, heartless thing. Hey, I'm probably the biggest genius out there! I can spell my name and count to ten! ^.^; erm…yeah, but Youko's not brilliant on the levels we call smart on certain things. But he did get the MENSA test question! Maybe he's smarter than he acts sometimes! Too bad we can't say the same about Kuwabara! Here's your goody-bag! Sorry about not getting refreshments. You're not the only one I forgot to give some too. I was sort of in a hurry last chapter.
~~Tyedye/Rin: Erm, that's okay. I'll make sure you know it's your quote when I use it! Have a goody-bag!
~~Sugar-Crazy-Fox: Golden Sprite award? Thanks! I checked yer bio and I see that you've only given it to about 6 people. Have a goody-bag for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying so far! Please stay tuned for more!
~~DarkShadowWriter: You can imagine it? That's good! I want people to envision what I write. I try to describe things well enough so you can imagine each and every chapter. Thanks for the review and have a goody-bag!
~~Tesina Gela Gardner: I think this is coming out pretty good too! I mean, I already have over 100 reviews before I even reached 10 chapters! My goal was to get 100 by 10 chapters! Thanks for your review and have a goody-bag!
~~chocogurl: Yeah, as you can see, even though Matsuo's smart and good-looking, he's only a guy with raging hormones. * shakes head sadly * Yup, he's kind of bad…have a goody-bag!
~~Mourning Fox: oh, just tell me that I'm not perfect why dontcha? Criticize every move that I make! Don't you know how hard it is to be an authoress?! * sobs * Just joking. I know I did that after I read over what I did…it was supposed to be either an exclamation mark or question mark. Oh well! It's already up! Glad you enjoyed! Have a goody-bag!
~~orange09: Erm…my question was if you wanted lemon scenes. I told you I probably won't do one since I got snitched out last time. You seem to review the same day I update…how strange. You're just going to have to wait to see if Touya really does like Botan. You are the second person to point that out and I'm glad that someone can read between the lines into this. Maybe Touya does like her…you'll see the twist in the upcoming chapters. So lay back, stick around and have a goody-bag for your review!
~~PassionateAngel: I'm glad you're enjoying this! Here is another chapter so I hope you didn't have to wait too long for it! Have a goody-bag for your review!
Like I said, thanks for reviewing and your name will be up again next time if you review this time!