Of Demons and Crafts

Summary: Two opposing thieves are forced to be mated as a result of a bargain for truce between their competing groups. Of course, nothing is as sweet as it seems as both assume false guises in order to catch the other off guard. Under strict orders to eliminate one another, Youko Kurama and Tsubaki Botan begin to endorse a pretend life of a happy couple. Except... falling in love was never part of the plan.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.


Chapter 3

The tension in the air was terribly conspicuous as Botan stepped into the conference room.

Prior to gracing the other residents in the room with their presence, Shizuru and Keiko had promptly calmed her down from her furious tirade against Youko whilst the bakeneko was changing out of her torn, mangled trademark kimono before donning yet another garb which strangely resembled it to a tee.

Granted, Botan hadn't expected the situation to be civil, considering that it had been years since Mukuro's and Yomi's groups had been at odds with each other. Yet the deathly bloodlust and intense competitive spirit mingling in the stiff ambience around them was almost too palpable for her taste. It made her mull over the possible reason that the two rival parties felt compelled to hold a meeting together even more. After all, she was pretty certain the set of incessant dirty looks from Yomi's part of the crew were more than enough testimony to indicate that they still weren't on friendly terms.

Not that her allies were any better though - with Yusuke and Shizuru shooting their own share of heated glares, it only prompted the air around them to shift in discomfort even more as the muted resentment fluttering around them simply uplifted to newer heights. They were sitting across each other in the conference room at a long, humongous table and Botan could already feel as if she was being pulverised into ashes from the unabating animosity patent in the air.

It felt like forever before Mukuro eventually cleared her throat to verbalize a calm announcement, "Right. So the reason Yomi and I have assembled each one of you is to discuss our recent… rather misanthropic encounters with one another."

"You mean the ones your side keeps instigating?" Karasu's cold, knife-like voice cut through the traction in the ambience. His violet orbs gleamed underneath pointy eyelids with barely curbed violence as they flashed menacingly at Mukuro's direction.

Shizuru was quick to offer a snide remark, "Okay, so look here, asshole." Her usually casual timbre was uncommonly tight, taut with repressed spite as her hazel-colored orbs glared daggers at Karasu. "For your information, your stupid band of wimps have been trespassing on our turf and hunting on our hunting grounds for the past five years. If we're shifting blames, might as well place it on you guys."

Karasu's eyes narrowed into intimidating slits as the malice from within his pools of purples began to build up even more. "Perhaps if you people kept your hands off of our treasures to begin with, we wouldn't have been impelled to pay back the treatment."

"Maybe if you nitwits stopped trying to get in our way first then we might consider," came Shizuru's brisk, barely-contained ill-tempered interposed.

Botan expelled a deep, slightly exasperated sigh as the two demons then proceeded to throw more and more debates at one another in a back and forth manner. She could discern the angry spikes of demon energies from all around her as Shizuru's and Karasu's bickering took a drastic approach to offensive insults and directly caused the quelled belligerence in the vicinity to finally burst after reaching a boiling point. One after another of them began to put the other down, voices rising up into high-pitched notches as arguments sparked from everywhere around the room.

These fits of malevolent squabbles, however, were immediately shushed by their respective leaders as Mukuro proffered another authoritative clear of her throat while Yomi clapped both hands in a muted command to silent down. Hollering resonance dwindled into hushed whispers before at long last subsiding into nothing as everyone soon practiced the act of reticence once again - either out of respect for their superiors or sheer trepidation of being impaled on a stick as a presentation of what could occur if anyone were to oppose.

"As Mukuro said, we are here to hold negotiations, not try to cut each other's throats," Yomi's voice was composed, though the note of moderate irritation was latent beneath as he spoke. "We should at least utilize courteous enough demeanors so that this could go on without a problem. This discussion is to benefit both parties, that I can assure you all."

"Sounds too difficult when you douchebags keep trying to pick a fight," Yusuke grumbled under his breath before instantly drawing his lips tight to refrain himself from pronouncing more barbs that could ignite yet another mouth-war as his mother, Atsuko, levelled a withering look at him.

Yomi wisely opted to disregard his snarky remark, though one corner of his lips twitched ever so slightly as the gallant smile on his visage almost faltered from his brief ruptured composure. "Of course. My apologies for that. I am aware that Karasu was the one who inaugurated the premature dispute."

The demon in question conferred his chairman a rather betrayed expression, annoyance evident in his lavenders before he drummed out a frustrated huff. Fortunately enough, this time he chose to keep whatever demeaning perceptions he might be withholding to himself.

"I know that we've had countless clashes for the past years," Mukuro droned, voice cautious yet firm, as if in a hushed implication for no more interruptions. "But after a while, Yomi and I have come to an agreement."

At that, the environment seemed to shift once more, but this time in brewing confusion as silent questions rose from the mind of every demon in the room. A rush of shock poured over them like a sprinkled effect, the feeling nothing short of astonishment over the fact that, after five years of being bitter foes, they could finally reach common ground. Needless to say, Mukuro's words had succeeded to pique everyone's interest.

"This group of twenty," Yomi drawled out as he clasped his hands together and positioned his chin on his joined fingers, "will be fused together as one squad-"

Almost immediately, Karasu pushed himself off of his seat, absolute incredulity perceptible in his ire-contorted, pale face as he gestured a startled, long and hard stare at his chief. "But, Yomi! We've been enemies for this long, you can't expect us to-"

"Karasu," Yomi's timbre sounded awfully taut as he rapidly cut short his subordinate's protests, the tincture of a warning edge dormant underneath as he continued, "I will not say this twice. Please be quiet and listen to what I have to say. If you speak without permission again…" The venom-filled sentence was left hanging in the air as Yomi deliberately trailed off, the subtle threat transparent as the syllables rippled out his throat.

Karasu drew his lips tight into a single, thin line of muted chagrin, but nonetheless proposed no more disapproval as he made to quietly reclaim his seat once more. Although, the still rebellion comatose under the note of impatience prominent in his lilac-hued irises was perceptible as he hoisted up the chair which he had involuntarily knocked down from his previous display of objection to take his seat again.

"May I ask what's this 'agreement' you're referring to?" Yukina's voice perked up from the left side of her twin brother as she proffered the inquiry in bewildered curiosity.

"Hmm," Yomi drummed from the back of his throat before gesturing his head towards Youko. "What do you think, Youko? I would assume someone of your keen intelligence would be able to guess by now."

The fox demon who had one arm propped on the worktop and his chin tucked neatly into the surface of his palm then aimed an uninterested gape at Yomi's direction. He had been preoccupied with his idly trailing lazy circles over the mahogany material of the table to rid himself of the surge of boredom in his system when Yomi had abruptly mentioned his name.

He was able to catch the distinct sound of Hagiri's displeasure as the sniper demon bleated a discontent opine despite his hushed octave, "He never pays any attention in meetings."

Youko shrewdly brushed him aside to direct his attention to Yomi as he vocalized an answer, "I'm unable to advocate a clue, unfortunately." The deep baritone of his voice harbored a trace of blatant impartiality before he then all of a sudden adopted an obnoxiously ebullient timbre as he gestured one of his clawed hands over Botan's direction and playfully declared, "As you might have already known by now, Yomi, I have been pursuing this little kitten for five years and yet she has yet to present me with the same affection. If there was some kind of method that I could have applied so that she and I could have been on more favourable terms, I would have done so."

The bakeneko had conferred him with a considerably deep frown when he had outstretched an arm to motion towards her, only to sound out a horrified gasp at his unabashed confession. It didn't take her long to put two and two together to easily comprehend the disapproving glances shot at the shameless fox demon did not only originate from her peers.

Yomi, however, expelled an amused, short-lived bouts of laughter. "Yes. I have been made aware of your attraction towards her by the others on many accounts. Although I don't think that it's my place to disrupt your courting sessions." A brief silence engulfed the entire space as the blind demon clutched a moment for a calculated pause. The tonality in his voice endorsed an eccentric speck as he eventually inquired, "What if I told you that Mukuro and I would allow you two to mate? What then?"

Karasu, as per habitual, was the first to oppose. "But, Yomi, the notion of enemy bandits being tied together as mates is preposterous!"

And as it regularly went, Hagiri served as his back-up as he briskly supplied, "I agree with Karasu on this one, Yomi. Youko's raging hormones aside, I find his obvious misconduct to be appalling. I don't understand why you would humor him to this point."

The uproar that took place precipitated after his unorthodox question threatened to puncture holes through the walls as timbres heightened once more into roared dissent. Although, most of the bellowed outcries emanated from Yomi's party, considering that the vast majority of Mukuro's group had been completely neutral with what they had wrongfully assumed was the bakeneko's sexual involvement with the fox. Be that as it may, it was apparent that the same couldn't be applied to their rival assembly.

Youko fluttered his eyelids open and closed in a sluggish, baffled blink. It was the first time the apparently level-headed silver-haired demon was rendered stupefied by the sudden, peculiar announcement. Botan, on the other hand, looked as if her soul was on the verge of slipping out her mouth.

"Silence," Yomi's low and dangerous growl bubbled out his throat as he spat out the single word. He watched as his subordinates ultimately soothed their fulmination into nothing, in spite of the salient rancour distinct in their deep-frowning features. "This was a decision made by Mukuro and I. All of you are inclined to do nothing but obey. Furthermore, this is up to Youko and the bakeneko girl themselves. Unless they refuse, the suggestion remains open regardless of your objections."

There was a disquieting moment of silence before Younger Toguro decided to chime in, "Is this some sort of deal for peace?"

Yomi's wave of irritation steadily dissipated as he cocked a single, delicate black eyebrow at him. "Why yes, yes, it is. You've heard of opposing nations achieving a congenial association through marriage, no? This is basically what it means."

"I don't get why it has to be them though," Elder Toguro cackled with a maniacal tinge in his cobalt yellow orbs as he gestured a finger at both Youko and Botan. "Well, if it's not me, I don't really mind."

"It's not as if anyone else was a suitable candidate for the plan," Mukuro offered the elucidated riposte at any rate. "At least Youko's somewhat interested in her. Everyone else seems adamant to slice each other down." She paused for a moment to bring the cup of sweet-flavored tea in front of her to her lips, taking a deliberate sip before going on her elaboration, "We're not trying to be arch-nemesis anymore. Yomi and I talked it over and deemed it better to resort to arranged mating. With us constantly stealing from each other, lesser-known bands of thieves have been going around exploiting more valuables and great-value antiques. We're not helping anyone or bettering ourselves by arguing all the time. And not to mention, the constant trespassing in territory is also becoming too frequent. Youko and Botan are a good start to a finer relationship between our different parties."

Reticence submerged the room once more, the priorly tense ambience replaced with reluctant relent as no one dared to voice out another complaint. As Mukuro had proffered her elaboration, her words had striked true to everyone in the conference area. It wouldn't be long before either sides would lose their reputation if the childish competition were to proceed even longer. They couldn't afford to let weaker, newer groups of bandits steal the spotlight anymore. Nevertheless, the mere notion of a sudden alliance was bizarre at best and hysterical at words, especially when in light of their five-year sustained friction.

"What do you reckon, Youko?" Yomi asked as soon as he noted the anterior resistance had dwindled, leaving in its wake nothing but diffident compliance. He swerved his head at the silver-haired fox's direction.

Youko speculated the risk for a fleeting second. Knowing Yomi, he was confident that the blind demon had something up his sleeve. There was no probable chance that Yomi would be so effortlessly accepting of partnership with Mukuro, especially when he took into account that he had been attempting to bring her down for as long as he could remember. And yet, he was currently entertaining the idea of alliance with her. To say that the prospect was ridiculous and unexpected was an understatement. It was delirium at its full-scale.

Notwithstanding his certitude that Yomi was devising a scheme though, Youko found that he couldn't care less and was rather excited at the opportunity to finally claim the bakeneko that he had been lusting after for five years. He had been persistently making advances on Botan despite her clear contempt towards him. It was a rare occurrence for any female to evoke his interest for such an extended duration of time, but Youko contributed the maintained infatuation to the fact that she was the only woman alive who had ever resisted him thus far. When he first met her, though he had discerned her feisty attitude towards him in an instant, Youko had reckoned that, give it a month or two, he would be able to swoop her off her feet. Then after he was tired of her and had derived any sort of pleasure he possibly could from her flesh and bones, he would dispose of her.

That was his initial ploy at least.

But Botan proved to be a hard demon to seduce. In the face of his brazen seduction, she was still too prideful to actually give in to him and had the propensity to snarl at him each time their paths coincidentally crossed. He was accustomed to the company of women no matter their origins, and never had he been the one to be the more invested party. But Botan was a different story altogether. She was the first female to have reduced him into a state of restless sexual frustration and still be unwilling to cave in to her desires, as regularly palpable her arousal might be whenever he so much as brushed his hands all over her. He was not the pursuer, but with her, he began to practice ceaseless wooing, if only to coerce her into submission at least once. If there was some way he could finally, finally make her his, he would grasp it in an instant.

Besides, mating usually entailed sex. And he had wanted to take her so badly since he first laid his eyes on her. Hell would freeze over before he would be foolish enough to forgo the fortuity that was bestowed upon him.

It felt like an interminable amount of time had flitted by before Youko eventually asserted a response, his aurelian orbs sparing a brief, indulgent glance at Botan's direction before resting on Yomi once more. His voice was rich and smooth, as velvet-like as usual as he sounded a delighted purr, "Goodness, Yomi. You've provided me a chance to sink my claws into my most prized treasure ever." He then levelled a sensual gape at the bakeneko's form, his molten gold irises glinting in uninhibited desire before he bubbled out a low, amused chuckle, nympholepsy quiescent beneath as he ascertained that their gazes locked. "My answer is a definite yes. I need not think twice."

But of course. That came as no shock to anyone. Even his conspicuous exhibit of passion towards her was considered a customary routine at this point.

Figures. Botan mused in an inward grudging tone as if she had anticipated his answer. Then again, by now, everyone in the room had practically already been made aware of his obvious lust for her through his constant audacious flirtation in order to express his covetous impulse for her over the past five years. It was not a strange presumption to assume that he would never decline the offer.

The bakeneko, on the other hand, was facing an internal turmoil. A part of her felt a spurt of utter disgust towards the mere conception of her being mated with Youko, but another, contradicting part of her, also articulated barely curbed sexual enthusiasm towards the notion. It was scary how much she hated yet wanted him at the same time.

Truth be told, when she stopped to think about it, it wasn't as if anyone in the closed space had any sort of vendetta against one another. Regardless, it was a dog-eat-dog world in the demon realm and Yomi and Mukuro were more than aggressive in their continuous, sneaky attempts to one-up each other. It had been a bond of amiable feuding at first, but with their constant run-ins with each other during thieving escapades, it swiftly intensified into a full out antagonistic conflict to prove which side was better. Botan couldn't count how many times both squads had interrupted in what was supposed to be a taciturn purloining spree and pilfered riches and ancient artifacts from the other, nor could she remember who started the plethora of hostility in the first place.

It didn't take long for the rivalry to steer into a worse direction and for them to start stalking for animal meat on each other's grounds, which was considered as a declaration of war to begin with in the demon realm. Often times, whenever any henchmen of Yomi's and Mukuro's would encounter one another, they would indulge themselves in a bloody battle for the sake of preserving their respective vanity instead of actually looting anything at all. This proffered other smaller groups to take advantage of the scuffles so that they could embezzle the valuables for themselves. It had transpired on too many occasions that it was becoming embarrassing for both sides and detrimental to their prestige.

Still, her relationship with Youko was the exact epitome of complicated correlations at its finest. Although they too portioned a sliver of discord between them, it was mostly caused by Youko's perpetually suggestive provocations and Botan's ill-temper in regards to the fox. She would habitually pick a fight with him due to her own inferiority complex against him, whilst he entertained her unabating instigation of sparring because he deemed it to be cute, for some odd reason Botan honestly failed to comprehend. There were also frequent accounts where the scrimmage was undoubtedly initiated by his perverted overtures and her recurrent spite at herself for fostering even the faintest fragments of stimulation from his touches.

Whereas she possessed a profuse surge of hate-lust sort of emotion towards him, Youko's motivations were simple and direct: he wanted her, and that was it. Even if there were numerous instances where his pride often clashed with her inflated ego and he intended to rile her up on a childish whim, he wore his feelings for her on his sleeve. His potent salacity for her was as clear as day and his bewitching advances were infuriatingly relentless. And despite her intricate mixture of resentment and desire for him, there were horrifying moments where she would almost succumb to him. Of course, Botan's own self-conceit prevented her from humoring his not-so-subtle requests for sex.

She halted in her musings to spare a fleeting glance at Mukuro.

The orange-haired mazoku noticed the brief look and offered a short-lived, cryptic smile in return. Botan was vividly aware of what the slant of her lips conveyed: she was to comply and to go along with the plan. And Botan felt compelled to perpetrate the task that was entrusted to her. After all, Mukuro was the one who took her in when she had nowhere else to go. She had pledged her life to the mazoku, and her loyalties lied with her no matter what. Botan couldn't find it in her to express any opposition to Mukuro's orders as she felt as if it would be a form of betrayal to her trust. She would do just about anything Mukuro requested of her.

...Even if it meant subduing her contempt and letting Youko have his way with her for a while, then so be it.

She could have sworn she had never seen Youko manifest such profound elation until she eventually shoved down the last remnants of her dignity to finally ripple out an ultimatum:

"Fine. If it helps both parties, it can't be helped."

After all, she was pretty convinced that Mukuro harbored an ulterior motive in mind.


"Botan."

It had been three hours of feigned camaraderie after the conference meeting and they resolved to hold a huge, grandiose celebration for the supposed alliance. Everyone pretty much relented and decided to discard any residues of displeasure in favor of keeping their respective chiefs happy. Yomi's band of desperados had vacated the premises of Mukuro's domain about half an hour ago, and the rest of Mukuro's mostly female subordinates had been preoccupied with cleaning up the mess in the dining hall. Botan had been deep in thought when Mukuro abruptly opted to approach her.

"Mukuro-sama," she responded in a bright voice, a radiant smile curling up at the edges of her rose-tinted lips as she observed the mazoku take a seat on the chair next to hers.

"You do realize that the entire discussion had been a charade, don't you?" Mukuro started, her words leaving her in ponderous syllables as she regarded the bakeneko with an apologetic guise. "I wouldn't have forced you into being with Youko if it weren't for a scheme of some sort. Mating is a serious prospect to consider, after all."

"I actually kinda figured that," Botan's riposte emitted from her throat in a reassuring, refined baritone. There was a knowing scintillia in her timbre as the letters passed her lips. "You would never try to obtain any sort of partnership with Yomi. I would know, Mukuro-sama."

There was a moment of reticence as Mukuro seemed to consider something. "But it's an important job nonetheless." She slightly swerved her body to the side to seize a firm yet gentle hold on Botan's shoulders, her features equally stern as she verbalized her words in an iota of pensiveness, "Listen, Botan. I want you to kill Youko."

The bakeneko wasn't startled that she had to get rid of the fox demon. After all, that had been her sole aim for the last five years. If he hadn't proven to be a slippery, admittedly formidable enemy, he would have been reduced with the lack of a head on his shoulders. What struck her as unforeseen, however, was something else.

The question rumbled through her chest after a hesitant pause, "I can do that, I think. But why go as far as getting me to mate with him?"

"He's interested in you, and everyone with eyes can see that," Mukuro droned, before sparing a fraction of a second to halt mid-sentence as she mulled over the accurate choice of words. "But I doubt his desires for you go beyond the boundaries of lust. Therefore, I want you to win his heart. If that's not possible, just get him to let his guard down enough so that you can dispatch him for good. Yomi has a lot of powerful forces in his group, but when it comes to intellect and information, he relies on Youko. And the thing with Youko is that he's hard to deal with on his own already, but you're on par with him. He's a strong one, and also possesses sharp wits. Without that fox at his side, Yomi stands to have a great disadvantage. We're matched with his lot the last time I checked, so if you can get Youko out of the picture, the strength in Yomi's army will no doubt decrease." She took another deliberate pause before asking, "Can you do that, Botan? You're the only one suitable for the job."

Botan honestly didn't need to think it over. Not anymore. She already said yes in any case. And deceit wasn't only Youko's expertise. She could be a master at trickery if needed to be as well.

And really, it would be just another game between her and Youko. Another game among many that they had played before. What could possibly go wrong?


"Well, that was the smoothest and most pretentious act I've had the pleasure of seeing," Youko's voice echoed in the midst of his set of chuckles as he shook his head, his lustrous locks of silver swaying lazily behind him as his aura rotated in gleeful flowy streams all over his form.

Hiei and Kuronue strolled at each side of his left and right as the trio ambled down the corridors of Yomi's humongous domain, the latter seemingly sporting a beguiled grin whilst the former donned his habitual scowl.

"Stop being happy that you can finally get to fuck her. Your patent lechery is starting to piss me off," Hiei chiselled in his snarky interposed, his gruff timbre dripping heavily with a modicum of vexation as he shot the uncharacteristically beaming fox an icy glare.

"Or you can simply be delighted on my behalf, Hiei. Good lord, you are so complicated," Youko replied in an exuberant tone, a smidge of child-like joy inert in his rich voice as he voiced the harmless jibe. Although, his timbre lacked the sarcasm which normally accompanied his disparaging wisecracks. Not even Hiei's temperamental issues could distort his high spirits for the day.

Kuronue blared a whole-hearted, gladdened bout of laughter from his chest as he eyed Youko's noticeable excitement. "Well, I didn't think I'd see the day you would finally be able to woo Botan. Not that you did any wooing, by the way. Yomi practically pushed your so-called relationship with her to another step," the chimera demon quipped in, his voice teasing as his pools of sapphires harbored a tittle of skittish mockery. "If it hadn't been for him, she would still be rejecting your courting attempts."

"No matter." Youko sounded a dismissive scoff whilst waving a hand at both of his friends in an equally dismissive manner. Not even Kuronue's annoying tendency to provoke him was going to distort his high spirits for the day.

"Well, while I'm pleased to see you in a good mood for once, Youko," Yomi's voice abruptly echoed from behind, prompting the three demons to swivel around just in time for their blind superior to step out of the shadows. He had his hands in the safety of the pockets of his robes as usual as he went on, "I'm afraid you wouldn't be enjoying her presence for a prolonged period of time." A chilling smile motioned up the corners of his lips in a laggard manner, the sinister undertones perceptible beneath the slant as he voiced out his order in an asserted dominance, "I want you to finish her off. She's one of Mukuro's most skillful fighters, she'd be a hindrance to us long-term wise."

Youko pursed his lips forward to indicate his thoughtful bearing. Okay, perhaps Yomi's sudden appearance and equally abrupt command almost distorted his high spirits for the day. Almost. After all, Youko was many things, but he was no simpleton. He had been acquainted with Yomi even before he met Hiei and Kuronue, and their army of thieves were originally a party of four. Even before they founded their current pack of bandits, Yomi had his eyes set on taking down Mukuro's faction, which had reigned supreme over their heads for about two years before Yomi's contingent rolled into the scene and threatened to steal their throne. Youko was assertive in his perceptions that Yomi had a trick up his sleeve and he wasn't astounded at all that his conjectures had been right on the mark. Out of the many talents he possessed, his acute aptness was one that he nurtured great pride in.

He craned his neck slightly to the side before he gave out a response, "And what if I don't want to? You know I've been pursuing her for an extended time. I doubt you'd believe so easily that I would want to eliminate her."

Well, that was half-true. To be more precise, his natural curiosity as a fox demon impelled him to satiate his building interest in whether or not he could or could not kill Botan. Her strength in both skills and demon energy were at a pinnacle he couldn't quite fathom. She was strong and thoroughly capable of tiring him out in their frequent scuffles. Not to mention, there were secrets behind her powers that he had yet to unveil and thus, the mere notion of clinching victory against a powerful bakeneko like her proffered shivers of anticipation down his spine. He was a demon after all, and demons enjoyed testing their strength and relished in whatever or whoever could serve as a challenge.

And Botan was exactly what he needed. A challenge as an opponent and a sexual partner. He wanted to know if he could coerce her into defeat in a fight. But more than anything, he craved for the gratification of watching her inflated ego melt down into nothing but bliss under his ministrations.

It was odd, really. Their relationship was strange beyond comprehension and interesting in the fox's outlook. Sexual tension, constant struggle to see who was better, mutual appreciation for the other's strength and prowess, a tinge of admiration, a shred of repugnance on Botan's behalf and a consuming fancy on his. There were intense conflicting emotions and contradicting judgement, and it was as complex as it was simple.

Despite everything, above all else, he simply wanted to stake his claim on her.

Yomi appeared to be undeterred, the menacing arch of his lips merely spreading an inch more on his visage. "Do whatever you like, Youko. Whether you kill her or not, I want you to take her off the list of Mukuro's division. If you can romance her to the point where she'd be inclined to join us, then so be it. Like you, I also admit that her powers would be beneficial for us to utilize. But if it doesn't work, I want you to eradicate her. Whatever methods you choose to attempt, it is of no importance to me."

Youko pondered over it for a brief moment. Whether or not he would actually resort to murder was a mystery in itself. Youko's ambitions often depended on his whims at the moment after all. If he didn't feel like it, he wouldn't really go to extreme lengths merely to get rid of her. If he was bored of her, then the idea of slaughter would probably be tempting enough. But mostly, he was intrigued with whether or not he was able to defeat her to begin with. The chances were 50-50, but numbers could easily be influenced by other elements when it came to a fight. And that was assuming the powers she obscured from him wasn't adequate to finish him off. Then again, with how long she had held back, Youko would assume that at this point she either actually cared about him, if only for a tad bit, or if she was incapable of controlling her own strength. Either way, he didn't mind. She was a challenge as usual, and he wanted to find out for himself if he was competent enough to overcome her.

And really, it would be just another game between him and Botan. Another game among many that they had played before. What could possibly go wrong?


kyoandyuya- Lolololol I'm glad you enjoyed reading through the sexual tension! Expect an abundance of it in future updates lmao. And plentiful of (hopefully, if I can portray them well) breathtaking scenes. Well, the meeting wasn't the best in my opinion lol. Blame my expertise at writing romantic scenes for that. I'm not used to it. Wellll. All I can say is that you can look forward to a lot of funny moments as well -again, hopefully.

AnnKirra- Hehe, for what it's worth though, I'm happy to hear from you again. Hope you'll enjoy reading through my stories as usual. Hmmm. There's gonna be a lot of power struggle and competition in bed, that's for sure. Not a lot of YB interactions in this chap, but expect a plethora of them in later chapters lol. And thank you! Stay safe and hope you take care as well.