Morning Roses

Chapter 1: Here, kitty-kitty-kitty…

Disclaimer: I'd say I owned it, but I'd get killed. …I mean sued.

A/N: I drew a random picture of Botan, decided it should be the ending of a fic, and here I am. No, you may not know what the picture is of. That would give away the ending. Anyway, this is going to start out very light, but there will eventually be dark undertones, though still plenty of humor. This is VERY AU. It is not in Japan, or even really in this world. Later on there may be small hints of Hiei/Shizuru in addition to the Yoko/Botan, so be warned. ANYWHO, we begin!

.x.x.x.x.

The Great Lord Yoko Kurama was having troubles.

He had been struggling for hours, and nothing was working.

Finally, he admitted defeat.

"Damn thing," he muttered, letting the kitten curl up in his lap without any more fight. A servant giggled and he shot a death glare her way, along with a mental note to fire her.

As anyone can tell, the Great Lord Yoko Kurama was NOT having a good day.

First, he had awoken to the kitten scratching at his door. Who knew where the kitten had come from? He ordered a random servant to remove it, and tried to get in some more sleep. This failed miserably, as the cat came back. He sighed and got out of his exceedingly comfortable plush bed, rubbing his silvery fox ears to get the circulation going. He hated having cold ears in the morning. And the servants had once again neglected to light a fire in his chambers. Grumbling and resisting the urge to kick the kitten, he wrapped a deep teal silk robe around himself and headed down along the cold corridors to the kitchen.

The kitten followed him.

It was a nice little kitten—clean, well groomed, and attractive—but Yoko did not particularly like cats. In fact, before about noon, he didn't particularly like anything. Although he dearly wanted some tea.

Well, to top of his wonderful morning, not only was the kitchen staff on strike, they had taken the tea with them.

He hated mornings.

Another few pain-filled minutes later, here he was, in his study, trying to read, with a spoiled, purring cat on his lap.

And people said the Lord Yoko had it good.

.x.x.x.x.

Botan chopped up a few more vegetables, humming a tune. She had always liked mornings. She reached up and tied back the cheerful off-white curtains on her window, letting the bright morning sun shine warmly on her worn wooden table. The water in the pot sparkled merrily when she splashed in the turnips. The young woman glanced out the window, mildly interested in the two well-bred horses coming toward her house at a gallop.

Yes, the horses, and not the riders.

She was a bit too much of an animal lover, to be honest.

Her little orange and white cat rubbed up against her leg and mewed loudly. She petted its head affectionately with one hand and grinned when it purred. Suddenly, the cat's fur stood on end, and it hissed loudly a few times before taking off for the other room. She frowned, looking for the horses again. Slightly disappointed, she noted that they had disappeared from her view.

A knock at the door blew these thoughts from her mind.

"One moment please!" she called, rapidly untying her white, stained apron over her simple cherry-red short-sleeved dress.

The knocking persisted.

She frowned. "I said one moment!"

The cat mewed from the other room.

Botan sighed and hung up the apron on a brass hook, stirred her soup one more time, wiped her hands on a rag, and went to the door. "Hello!" she said cheerfully.

The two men lowered their heads in the customary gesture of respect. "May we come in?" the larger asked.

"Of course!" she bubbled.

They entered her small, two-room cabin, and she noted their expensive silken clothing. Why would men this well off be visiting her?

Ignoring her bemused expression, they sat gingerly in two wooden chairs.

The small, brunette man spoke first. "Well…um…we come to ask if you are interested in…employment."

She blinked a few times. "Employment? Of what kind?"

He glanced at his partner. "We need you for a spy."

.x.x.x.x.

Yoko twiddled his thumbs. This failing to alleviate his boredom, he twiddled his fingers in general. He was still bored. He sighed deeply.

"Yoko, are you even listening to me?" his closest advisor shot.

He raised an eyebrow. "Something about politics. Fascinating. I'm sure you can take perfectly good care of it all, Hiei."

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "Look, Yoko, this is important."

"Yes, whatever." His stomach growled. "When's supper?"

"Not until you take this seriously."

"I AM taking it seriously!"

"Then what is the current crisis involving Taijir?"

"Um…more disputes over gold imports?"

Hiei deadpanned. "Very good. But that was this time LAST year. This is far more serious."

"I'm really quite sure you can handle it. Wait, isn't the kitchen staff on strike?"

"Yes, they are, but that has nothing to do with Taijir."

Yoko looked down his nose at his friend. "This is a much more pressing matter. We cannot go without a well-cooked dinner."

Hiei put his face in his hand. "Yoko…"

"Now if you'll excuse me, Taijir can wait. I need to find someone around here who can cook."

"I suppose the impending war is of no import, then."

"Not compared to dinner. Wait…did you say WAR?"

.x.x.x.x.

"Think about it, Botan. This is for your country. We must conquer Ekistu at all costs," Lord Koenma urged.

She was still somewhat in shock that THE lord of the land would come to HER to spy. "But…why me?"

Koenma exchanged glances with his dark-haired partner. "We've…ah…been watching you. Observing, really, to get an idea of your skills…er…"

Botan stared, jaw about at the floor. "You were STALKING me?"

"Observing, Botan! OBSERVING!" he insisted. "Anyway, there's no time to argue! This is the PERFECT time for you to infiltrate Yoko's castle!"

"I haven't agreed to help you yet, Lord Koenma sir!"

"All right, fine. Do you want to know the REAL reason we chose you?"

"Yes, actually."

He uncomfortably rubbed the back of his head. "You're an excellent cook."

.x.x.x.x.

Hiei glared at a random spot on the floor, causing it to start smoking. He should not have been trying to find a replacement cook. He should have been working out a treaty of some kind with Taijir. But NOOO, FOOD was more important to Yoko!

Sometimes he wondered why he didn't just take over the kingdom and get it in more competent hands. He all but ran it as it was.

But he had to admit, Yoko kept the people loyal, and in that sense, was a great ruler. They loved him.

They wouldn't love Hiei. They would fear Hiei, lest he destroy them.

…Maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea for him to run a country after all.

A booming knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts with a bang, and the floor would have breathed a sigh of relief if it could breathe. Frowning inside and out, he jerked it open with a snap, his deep blue velvet tunic swirling.

"Yes?" he shot.

The blue-haired girl at the door smiled nervously. "Ah, hello, I've heard that you need a cook?"

Hiei's crimson eyes narrowed. "Perhaps. Who might you be, woman?"

Her smile widened. "Oh, good! My name? I'm Botan!"

He opened the door and led her in. "Are you from this country?"

"Born and bred!" She grinned at him.

Slight suspicion flitted across his mind, but he put it aside. "Which town?" he inquired, starting for the kitchen.

"Yii," she answered without pause.

Yii was about three miles away. It was easily conceivable that she had walked that distance, but how would she have heard about the strike so quickly?

"Then how were you informed of the need?" he swiftly inquired.

"I've been staying with relatives in this city for a few weeks, looking for a job."

Hiei shoved open the dark, heavy doors to the kitchen. "In here," he ordered. "You'll have a one-week trial period, so I will no longer have to waste my time on such useless things as staffing. Lord Yoko will determine if you stay on after that."

She shifted nervously. "Ah…where will…?"

"You'll sleep in there," he cut her off, pointing at a smaller door in the corner by the stove. "Go to the laundry to get uniforms."

"And where…?"

"Down that hallway on the left. But deal with that after you prepare food for Lord Yoko—and myself." He shut the door on her, determined to force Yoko to pay some heed to the coming war.

.x.x.x.x.

Botan looked around the small room, a small expression of approval on her face. The wooden floor was worn but clean, the bed nicely made with pale blue linen and a thick white cover. There was a small window on the wall with a white eyelet valance, and a small wood night table with a brass candlestick on it, matches right beside. There was a flat-topped, ironbound chest with a lock and a porcelain bowl for washing just beside it. Overall, it was bright and well kept, and she felt quite sure that it would do very well.

She shrugged off her spring green cloak and draped it on the trunk, then pulled her apron out of her back and went back into the kitchen. She'd show this Yoko she could cook, and after that…

Well, that was up to Lord Koenma to decide.

.x.x.x.x.

"Well…that was an incredible meal! Where did you find such a cook, Hiei?"

"She just showed up, asking for the job. Now about Taijir…"

"MUST you talk politics at the table?"

"Yoko…" Hiei growled, "This is important."

Yoko's ears twitched merrily. "All right then. I'm ready to listen. What precisely is going on with Taijir?"

Hiei smirked. "Finally. Well, to make a long story short, they want our land and the sapphire mines. Apparently Taijir thinks us weak enough as to be finished off with a single military strike."

Golden eyes glinted. "Sounds like fun."

His friend and advisor rubbed his temples. "I thought you said you were going to take this seriously…"

His silver tail swished menacingly. "I am, Hiei." A dangerous smirk crossed his face. "I'm ready for war."

"But Yoko, Taijir is a force to be reckoned with. They have a very good chance of conquering us."

"But they've failed every time before!"

"I have received information from one of our spies that Lord Koenma is planning something new…something sure to defeat us. This is as yet unverified, but we cannot charge into this recklessly."

Yoko sighed. "So what do we do? Wait?"

"For now." Hiei nodded. "But we keep our eyes and ears open. The spy also informed me that one of our others was discovered."

"And killed?"

Hiei smirked gravely. "It seems he is not so lucky as to receive death."

The lord's eyes hardened. "Did he reveal anything?"

"No. The memory suppression spells became effective in time."

"Who was it?"

"Not disclosed. But I'm nearly sure it was Karasu."

Yoko relaxed. "Ah. Never liked him much anyway."

"But he was one of our BEST, Yoko. This is serious. How many more will we lose before we find out what Koenma is planning?"

He gazed seriously out the window at the setting sun. "Hopefully not many."

.x.x.x.x.

Someone had once said that Botan was born to get lost. By the time she finally found the laundry room, she was inclined to agree.

"Umm…hello?" she called into the empty room.

A head with long chestnut hair poke out from another open door. "One second…"

A moment later, a tall woman dressed in a deep blue dress, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, stood in front of Botan, arms crossed. "Are you the new cook?"

"Yes!" Botan voiced brightly.

The woman grinned. "Hey. I'm Shizuru, head of household here."

Botan blinked. "But…"

She laughed. "Yeah, I'm young. But I have connections, and those are everything, right?"

The other smiled. "I suppose. Umm…"

"You need a uniform, right? I bet I have one around here that'll fit you fine…hang on a sec…" Shizuru tapped across the stone floor to a cabinet in the far wall. She opened it and pulled out a few blue bundles, before finding one she seemed to find right. The woman returned to Botan, carrying the bundle. "Here. If it doesn't fit, don't hesitate to come back and look around for one yourself. What's your name, anyway?"

"Botan! I'm very pleased to meet you, Shizuru!" she gushed, taking the dress.

"Hey, just out of curiosity, have you seen the big guy yet? Lord Yoko?"

Botan shook her head, ponytail flying. "Not yet. What does he look like?"

"Well…picture the most handsome guy you can. Then give him silver hair, ears, and a tail. Oh, and amber eyes and an ass to die for."

She laughed. "It sounds like you're attracted to him!"

Shizuru laughed in return. "To Yoko? Nah. I mean, he's gorgeous and all, but he's not my type."

"Well…I suppose I had better go to bed…it's getting quite late, and I'm very tired," Botan said gently, adjusting her hold on the dress.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll see you tomorrow, Botan! It's nice to have another girl around the place who's not afraid of me."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Why are the other girls afraid of you?"

Shizuru winked. "You'll see. Have a good rest; you'll need it."

Grinning, Botan started the maze-like trek back to her room, and the welcoming bed.

.x.x.x.x.