Botan saw one of them move his hand slightly and panicked. She grabbed Yukina's arm and yanked her back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind them. "Botan, I thought we weren't going to run?" She gave her shorter friend an ashamed look, "I know... I just panicked. Maybe this school was a bad idea..."
After Botan and Yukina's weird display of cowering, Genkai told Kurama to show them around the school and respect their personal space. Once he stepped out into the hall, he was surrounded by his friends, at about the same time Botan and Yukina had decided to exit the washroom.
Unfortunately, they misinterpreted things when his friends didn't budge after they asked politely. He went to offer a hand to shake and they retreated into the bathroom, utterly terrified. He just blinked as their words drifted through the closed door. "Botan, I thought we weren't going to run?" "I know... I just panicked. Maybe this school was a bad idea..."
Yusuke and Hiei, though still somewhat ticked at the girls, were feeling a little less anger and a little more pity. Of course, that didn't mean they were going to be nice to these girls. "Hn, if they're hiding in there, maybe someone else should show them around. They obviously have issues." Kurama set his eyes on Hiei who was glaring at the door to the washroom.
"Hiei, shut up. I'll come find you guys at lunch, just get lost for now so I can show the new kids around." Yusuke, Kuwabara and Koenma rolled their eyes at Kurama, but followed Hiei when he walked away. Once they were at least around the corner Kurama cleared his throat, "Um, Botan? Yukina? Genkai-sensei asked me to show you around the school."
Behind the door, Yukina hit Botan in a sisterly way and pulled open the door, ignoring Botan's protest. "S-sorry about that... Botan and I are just a little jumpy, being in a new place and all..." Botan scowled as Yukina shook the boy's hand, whether she had winced or not, Botan still felt Yukina was abandoning common sense by going within three feet of the boy.
"If you would just show us to the cafeteria and the art room we should be fine on our own from there..." Yukina, despite what Botan thought, knew she'd be better off not letting this boy know where their classes were. No they couldn't prove he was a bad person, like that tutor they'd had the year before, but they also could not prove he was a good person. And until they had solid proof, like him making out with a guy, they wouldn't trust him.
Yes, in their opinion, the only good guy was a gay guy, because at least they wouldn't touch either of them. There was no hate behind this, well none aimed at homosexuals. "If that's what you want. But I suggest you study your map well." Botan fidgeted with the map in her hands and bit her lip, "Just show us the way so we can leave." Yukina gave her a reprimanding look, to which Botan just rolled her eyes.
Kurama sighed and held his arm out in front of him, pointing towards the west wing, "Alright. The art room is this way, the far end of the left wing." He started walking and they followed at a three foot distance behind him, never getting closer or further, afraid of getting too close and afraid of getting lost.
They took a left and a right and reached a pair of painted doors, "Here's the art room, and now I'll show you to the cafeteria." He started walking to the right and again, they followed at three feet. Unfortunately, this time they took several rights two lefts and several more rights. This left Botan and Yukina confused out of their minds. "There it is." Kurama said finally, pointing to the large cafeteria.
"Wasn't there an easier way to get here!" Botan shouted, she wasn't happy that he'd taken so many twists and turns, no one in their right minds could remember all that. He smirked at her and casually said, "Yeah." Yukina put a hand on her friends arm when she tried to take a step forward, "Alright, we know the way, now let's get out of here Botan. We don't even start class until tomorrow."
Botan spun on the heel of her black shoes and pulled Yukina off in a random direction, hopping it led to the exit. Once they got around the corner, she whipped out the map and pin pointed their location, finding an exit at the end of the next hall. "Come on let's get out of this hell hole." She led Yukina to the exit and they stepped outside into the bright sun.
"Now how do we get to the parking lot?" They looked around, but didn't see any cars, so they began walking one way around the school, oblivious to the large group of students they had just passed. Unfortunately for them, the students recognized them and trapped them against the wall. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my favourite little playthings. Botan and Yukina."
Even if the voice hadn't given away who it was, his face sure did. It was Naraku. Botan and Yukina backed into the wall as far as they could and stared frightfully at him. "What are you doing here! I thought you were still in jail!" Botan shouted, it was perhaps lucky that she did too. Kurama had been passing by a window, near enough to see them, with his friends and heard her shouting. Normally he would just keep walking, but when he glanced out the window and saw what was going on, he felt like he had to do something.
Luckily for the girls, even his friends wouldn't just stand by and watch some other bullies pick on their chosen targets. They were very protective of who they picked on. So Kurama and his friends ran outside, reaching the commotion about the time Naraku and his friends were closing in on the girls. "P-please...just leave us alone!" Yukina cried out as he struck her. Botan screamed when Yukina hit her head on the brick wall, she began to bleed, and she was unconscious.
"Go away Naraku! You're not allowed near us! We'll call the cops!" Botan shouted desperately, but with each step Naraku and his chums took towards her and Yukina, her strength seemed to fail more and more. Kurama was the first to do anything; he called out to Naraku, "Picking on girls again because you're afraid of my gang?" Naraku and his chums turned on Kurama, Yusuke and Hiei. Kuwabara and Koenma had snuck out of sight so they could get the girls away from the soon-to-be fight.
As soon as Naraku threw a punch at Kurama, the two bolted for the girls, picked them up and continued running. Botan, being the only conscious one, was scared shitless, out of Naraku's grasp and into the clutches of a stranger. She promptly fainted from shock and exhaustion. The last thing she saw was Naraku getting his face pounded into the ground by Kurama.
When Botan woke up, she saw Yukina hovering nervously above her, "Botan! Are you okay! What happened, where are we? Did Naraku..." She swallowed nervously before mumbling out, "...did he, y'know...?" Botan opened her mouth to answer but another person beat her to it. "You are at the Manimino residence." They turned their heads towards the voice so quickly that anyone else would have gotten whiplash, "We're where!" Yukina shut hers tightly and began whispering 'It's not real, it's not real, it's not real...' to calm herself down.
"I'm so glad to see you girls awake, Suiichi will be so pleased, he seemed awfully worried." The woman that had been speaking was, to put it quite simply, beautiful. That's not to say she was like one of those models from magazines, she just held this pure look with her smile. She seemed to have kindness coming off of her like a mist, like someone you couldn't help but trust, no matter who you were.
Botan and Yukina exchanged a nervous look and turned back to the woman, "Suiichi?" They definitely did not recognize that name, "Oh, I'm sorry; most of his friends like to call him Kurama." This name did not seem to ease any of Yukina's fears, but Botan seemed to react stranger than normal. "...I still don't recall...anything..." Yukina gave her a disbelieving look, Botan had managed to make herself forget when she blacked out.
"Botan! Don't you remember, we were going home, then he jumped us and those other boys saved us! They made... umm... someone go away..." Yukina's eye began to dim and she looked around, confused, "Where are we?" Like Botan, Yukina had finally become so stressed, she forgot much of the last twelve years.
Botan's eyes welled up with tears and she sniffled, "I want my mommy!" The woman, Mrs. Manimino stared at the girls, shocked and worried. "Suiichi! Come quick!" She yelled, she wasn't sure what was going on. Yukina started to cry too and wailed, "Where's my mummy?" Both the girls were complete sobbing messes by the time Kurama ran into the room. At first he thought maybe they were just scared, but when he heard them both cry for their 'Mommies' he panicked.
"Botan, Yukina? Are you okay?" He tentatively took a step towards them and they sniffled at the same time, whipping some tears from their eyes, "D-do you k-know my m-mommy?" Botan asked shyly, and he paled, though it was unnoticeable to the girls. "Umm...yes... Your mommy asked me to watch you for a little while..." Botan seemed satisfied with his answer and grinned, "So you're my babysitter Suiichi-kun? Can we play hide and go seek, pwease?" She gave him a trade mark puppy eyes look.
He supposed it would have been cuter if she was five. "Sure... you go hide and I'll find you." She grinned again and ran out the room, giggling as she looked for a place to hide. Yukina, on the other hand, was not smiling. She was crying again. "M-mommy...s-she l-left me...d-didn't she...s-she's not c-coming b-back!" He nervously patted her back, trying to calm her down, "No, she'll be back...your mommy asked me to watch you too...Right mother?" He turned around and his mother nodded encouragingly.
Normally she would never lie, but something was wrong with these girls and they seemed to believe they were about five... they needed to be calmed down. "Why don't you play hide and seek with Botan and me?" Yukina nodded once and he smiled at her, "Okay, go hide. I'm going to count to ten and come find you." She got up and ran out of the room to find a place to hide.
Kurama turned to his mother and sighed, "Can you call Genkai-sensei? I don't know where these girls live, maybe she does..." His mother nodded kindly and left to call the kind older woman. He took a deep breath and went to look for Botan and Yukina... gods he hated babysitting.
Here's chapter two! I hope you like it!
I've decided I'm posting as many updates as I can seeing as I lose computer access for the summer on Tuesday...
