Hello there! :-)

I am now finally able to upload this story...woohoo! Hehehe.. I had been writing this for a month or so now, I think? And I had a good time writing this but it proved to be quite a challenge, sometimes.. I actually even thought to forego finishing this at one time.. :-D

But then, I am now really engrossed in this new-found hobby of writing... and, somehow, I wanted to be able to keep sharing my work. I'm not expecting anyone to enjoy my works as much as I do..or did. But if anyone could somehow feel delighted, or refreshed.. by any of it then I'd say that I would have achieved some purpose. :-)

Now then, please indulge.. :-D

*I do not own YYH nor any of its characters.

=== START ===

It is now 2020 and the world as it is has certainly gone a long way from what it once was. Among a lot of things that mankind has invented and brought to the forefront of innovation and civilization, good and evil alike, the internet has massively revolutionized and modernized the way things are done; not to mention that it has mobilized a lot of things – from cashless payments, to contactless transactions, and even paved the way for what is called the "Internet of Things", "Machine Learning", or "Artificial Intelligence". Now, door locks, house lights, even monitors, to name a few, can be remotely accessed and operated. One could now talk with and interact with "chatbots" or even ask Alexa, Siri, or the Google Assistant to, say, search things online. It has permeated society so much so that even the core of or manner by which people interact and mingle with each other, on a supposedly personal level, has changed.

For others, the various changes brought by the modern world could be a lot to take in; especially for the more senior or traditional ones. But for many others, especially for the children and the youth, these have been embraced openly and readily, and have even become their way of life as they jump on the flow of science and technology as easily as if they were only flipping pages on a[n] [e]book.

Still there are several others, like Kurama, who don't necessarily attribute any feelings to the changes that the world has brought. Kurama doesn't feel especially thrilled or overwhelmed by the modern world but he is not also against it. If anything, he just rides with it and adjusts his lifestyle around it as best as he can. After all, what other alternative is there aside from that? It's not that he had not been to a lot of changes himself neither. For instance, he had lived in Makai, as a legendary, fox yokai bandit, a thousand of years ago. Then, as he fled to Ningenkai to save his life some almost three decades or so years ago, he had lived and adopted to the ways of humans quite comfortably ever since.

Now though, as a young man who has stepped into the world of adulthood, one of the more impending changes that has graced his life is that of having to live alone. This situation, although somewhat a little delayed as compared with the general phase of the other people of his generation, is new to him as he had lived most of his life with his family previously. However, he does not find it too worrisome neither as he believes that he is capable of it in a lot of ways. He is quite comfortable and confident with being alone to begin with. Yet, in order for his new life to even begin to run smoothly now, he knows that he has to somehow surmount the challenge of unpacking and settling his things first at his new apartment – located in an apartment complex at a residential area of the city and is much closer to his workplace.

He has been working, for around two years now, as an Assistant Manager in the Finance Department of his step-father's Company as, although he is poised to become the next Company President sooner or later, he had insisted to his step-father that he didn't mind learning first-hand and going up the ranks first. In a rather succinct sense, he has now adequately become a global citizen of this modern world; going through purely human events and minding human problems as well as milestones.

Needless to say then, for the past several years, his life as a Spirit Detective had long left him, it seems. He hadn't participated in anything supernatural nor did he have to battle yokais, stray or not, that pose a threat to Ningenkai. He had not even participated in any otherworldly tournament (like the Demon World Tournament that was supposedly held every other three years). His best friend, Hiei, had gradually showed up less in the previous years; from visiting him (or more like showing up to him) once every other month, to once a year, to once in the three or four years past. On the other hand, he had gotten together with his other close pals, Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara, just once in the past three months as they briefly came together over drinks to celebrate Kuwabara's promotion at work.

But even so, his past had not left him all together. Traces of it still remain in his life as, working in the same Company as he does, is Shizuru, who is now a Manager at the Marketing Department, and Kaito Yu, who is also an Assistant Manager at the Company's Corporate Communications Department. From time to time, despite having many other colleagues and working in a tall 10-storey building that had also accommodated shops, cafes, restaurants and boutiques at two of its lower floors, they would meet by chance, say, on the lift as they would go on to their respective floors and workstations or at the Company cafeteria. They would then talk briefly or ask how each one is doing these days. But most of the time, they would only be updated of each other's life and life events through social media as most others are nowadays.

Yet Kurama does not regularly check nor log-in to his social media account. He didn't even make it himself – his younger brother had made it for him so that he could be friends with "someone who is popular with the ladies". And because of that, his account has really been nothing but bare, containing very little and irrelevant information like the date when he joined the app, a picture or two of him with his younger brother, and… well, basically just about that. His profile picture even looks more like a picture that one would attach to a job application form while his cover image is just the image of a garden of roses. If this particular account of his was not friends with his younger brother or any of his other friends like Yusuke or Kuwabara, one would not really think that this account of his was 'legit'. It would be much more believable, in fact, if one would say that this account (or page) of his was created by one or more of his avid 'fans'.

However, it's just that sometimes, when he does not have anything meaningful to do, or if he finds himself too tired (or lazy – yes, he gets lazy sometimes too) to read a book, he would find himself scrolling through his account's feed just to glean on any updates from his family and friends. And as he does, like recently, he sees and feels happy that, for one, Yusuke and Keiko have finally opened another branch of their ramen house that is named after their second child. Or, that last week, Kuwabara and Yukina had gone on a travel to South Korea where Kuwabara had finally proposed to her. So on and so forth.

As for Kurama, he found himself standing in the middle of his unpacked things at his new apartment that one Saturday morning. Earlier as he arrived, and since he had moved his things overnight from his childhood home, he had unpacked his clothes and arranged his room first. However, since it was already quarter to nine in the morning, and since he had not set his kitchen up yet, he found himself wanting some coffee and breakfast. It was a good thing that the coffee shop he frequents during the weekdays, on or after his lunch breaks, was just a few blocks away. So then he thought to pause with the unpacking for a while and decided to go out to get breakfast and coffee.

As he arrived outside of his favorite coffee shop, he had noticed, much to his delight, that it was not packed even when it was the weekend. It was the reason why he had wanted this coffee shop so much in the first place. In a fast moving modern world where people do hang out still but fancy to hold it over coffee – while talking, gossiping, or mostly just taking social media-friendly pictures with their drinks – he only wanted to hang out in a place where he could find peace and slow things down for a bit. And this had been the perfect, peaceful place for him.

It was not a popular coffee shop after all nor was it very large; in fact, it held an area that was good for only about 10-15 coffee tables or so and had only about three couches. But this place was more than enough for him as he found the ambience, the coffee, and the food at par with what the other big coffee shops have to offer. Not to mention that this place can take him to places that his mind and his memory permitted as he quietly relaxed and unwound by himself at times.

As he proceeded to open the door, the aromatic scent of the coffee that was brewing greeted him. Smiling as the familiar scent and feeling of his sanctuary met him, he then made his way towards the cashier to place his order.

"Oh hi, Mr. Shuiichi! Good morning! It's great to see you here on a weekend for a change. Are you going to order your usual?", Tamaki, the barista, said as soon as he saw Kurama, one of his regular customers, come up to the cashier.

"Hi, Tamaki. Good morning and it's great to see you too.", Kurama responded and smiled. "Uhh… I just actually moved around here. So it's probable that from now on, you will see me more frequently on the weekends on top of my weekday lunch visits. But yes, I'd like to get the usual, please. And could you also get me two pancakes with a sausage and scrambled eggs on the side?", he added.

"Sure, Sir!", said Tamaki as he immediately and deftly punched Kurama's orders on the register.

"Oh, I see… that's why you're here today. Welcome to the neighborhood, then! But uh, I'm not actually on duty during the weekends Sir, it just so happened that I covered for one of our staffs who couldn't make it this morning. But don't worry, I'll let the rest of our staff know about your coffee preference so that anyone could continue to serve you seamlessly even when I'm not around to assist you personally.", he added as he smiled pleasantly at Kurama.

"Oh, you don't really have to do that. I'm okay. But, thanks for the thought.", Kurama responded. He truly appreciated the kind gesture even though he really didn't mind having to order in the usual way as other customers would do.

Soon after his orders were punched and he had paid, he then turned to head for his usual spot by the corner which faced the tall glass window.

"It's our pleasure, Sir.", Tamaki responded as he pulled up the receipt to finish the transaction. But as soon as he saw Kurama turn to head for the table that he usually occupied, he then added, "Oh, by the way, your usual table's occupied, Sir…"

But Kurama had already turned even before Tamaki could finish his sentence. And as he did, he saw for himself that it was indeed occupied. If it were any other day… or any other person, this would have gotten him quite unsettled. But right then, as he looked at the small table at the corner by the window, he could only freeze in surprise and stare in silence as he saw a familiar blue-haired girl was sat as she looked outside.

At first he was unsure but then deep inside he felt that it was her. It had really been a long time since he had last seen Botan. And at that time, he couldn't quite put what it was but as he stared at her, he thought that she looked different. She had let her hair down while a small clip held some of it on the side. She wore a casual attire – a tiny-strapped, white tank top matched with a blush pink skirt and a pair of white sneakers. She had also brought a jean jacket to complete her outfit but as she was sat, she had slipped out of it as it laid folded on the top of her lap instead. She rested her chin at the back of one of her hands as she looked outside while her other hand rested on the table as she held on to what looked like a phone. He thought, despite her quite chic attire, that she looked more matured… and a lot more stunning and beautiful; she had definitely turned from a girl to a lady! And, as the sunlight softly hit her eyes and her skin, her skin gave out a sort of a glow while her eyes sparkled brightly. He stood silently for a moment more, taken aback at the deity (literally and figuratively) that was in front of him; unsure of what to do even. Was he always this flustered when he saw her? Or, was it because of the feelings of nostalgia that came swarming him all at once? He didn't even know how to approach her lest start a conversation with her. Should he be too friendly? Should he be too formal?

But then Botan, who seemed to have noticed that someone was staring at her, suddenly turned her head to look at him thus meeting his eyes. Then her eyes grew wide as she was surprised herself to see Kurama there. She then thought, as she looked at him standing somewhat dumbfounded from not very far away, that Kurama had seemed to have grown taller and that his body had gotten slightly more buffed (but not because his muscles had grown a lot bigger... it's just that his shoulders and arms, for instance, had become wider and more pronounced). He had tied his hair up, thus revealing his elegant jawline, and he also wore fashionable casual clothes – a body-hugging, gray long-sleeved, crewneck sweater – on top of a blue denim collared shirt – matched with black fitting jeans and brown, laced shoes. She also thought that he looked different from how she remembered him… but even still, he was as charming and handsome as ever.

Yet, she was able to recover from their surprise meeting much quicker than him, as she smiled sweetly and raised her hand to the level of her shoulder to gesture a small greeting. Kurama then thought that even if it had been so long ago and she appears to have changed, somehow, as he observed her warm smile and the overall feeling that her presence exuded, she upheld herself just the same… This lady was still the same bright and bubbly Botan that he knew all those years ago. With that, he then felt a little comfortable, which made his face muscles relax to permit him to smile, although still not quite.

"Oh, Ku – I mean, Shuiichi! It's been such a long time… Hi!", Botan finally exclaimed cheerily. She almost blurted out his real name but then she remembered that she was in Ningenkai and that Kurama was known as "Shuiichi" here.

"Hi, Botan! Yes indeed it has been a long while! …Out of all the places, I didn't expect to bump into you here today.", Kurama responded as he was finally able move and walk towards her. He was genuinely happy to see her too. However, the way that he had just responded didn't quite match the cheery greeting that the ferry girl gave him.

"What? We have not seen each other in quite a while and that is what you say to me? Aren't you even slightly glad to see me?", Botan then joked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Ahahaha… Pardon me but I meant nothing of that sort... Of course, I'm glad to see you! I just… I didn't exactly know what to say as I was and still am really startled to see you… May I?", Kurama responded as he beckoned towards the chair in front of her to sit on it.

"Really? Why don't you give me a hug then, for starters?", Botan responded as she held her arms out to him while she remained seated; her charming smile never breaking off. Kurama then felt shy and a little more flustered again. But then he hugged her anyway; maintaining a safe distance as he did as he was a gentleman. He had remained collected and calm yet, despite it all, he couldn't help but notice now that she had smelled rather nice; thus messing his mind more and sending electrifying waves throughout his whole body. This time, and as he thought that this was actually the first time that they had hugged at all after all those years, he couldn't help but slightly blush. "What is with me now?", he thought.

"Wow… it has been… 10 years?", he immediately said as their hug broke off and he proceeded to sit in front of her. He hoped that Botan would not notice his slight blush as he felt his ears and his cheeks become warmer. It was a friendly hug, he thought, but nevertheless, it felt different… for him, for sure.

"10 years here in Ningenkai and about 5 years in Reikai, yes. But you still look charming as ever, I'd say. How have you been?", Botan said in her usual bright demeanor. She hadn't seemed to notice Kurama's blush, thankfully.

"Uhh… you look pretty…pretty good too! And I… I've been fine. Gosh, I still don't know where to start or what to say. Hehehe… I'm so sorry if this is making me uncharacteristically stutter.", Kurama honestly admitted… and feeling rather nervous at what he might have ended up saying a while ago if he hadn't added "good" immediately. Something about the ferry girl now was definitely making his words die in his throat and has thrown his mind into a jumble. What's the deal with me?

"How… how is your ferrying job?", Kurama then added. Although he still couldn't quite grasp what was ticking him off, he just decided for now to appear calm and start a conversation. He decided to sit in front of her after all. Plus, he really didn't want Botan to feel awkward with him as a result.

"Hmmm… it's still the same… same old, same old… and it has been for the past century or so, actually. You know, some days it's hectic, especially when there are calamities or whatnot, other days it's just the usual. Hehehe… But soon, I think my job will take a turn for the better… or worse. I will just have to find out for myself as it seems that I am gonna have to look for new Spirit Detectives again.", Botan replied.

"Really? Is there some trouble brewing again?", Kurama said as he placed both of his arms on top of the table which made him slightly lean forward towards Botan. Because of this, he could smell her pleasant fragrance once again. And, because of the small distance that was between them too, he could more clearly notice Botan's flawless and glowing skin which made his stomach flutter and his heart beat even faster. So then, in order to prevent any untimely and unwanted blushing on his part yet again, he decided to lean back and just put his hands in his pockets.

"No, not really…thankfully. It's just to be prepared…so Koenma says.", Botan responded.

"Hi, Ms. Botan, sorry to interrupt. Here's your usual.", Tamaki said as he suddenly stood on the side with Botan's order on a small tray. With the way that he addressed her and how he talked with her, it appeared that she was a regular customer of his too. And because there were not many other customers in the shop that day, Tamaki must have thought to just serve her order out to her instead of calling her at the bar. Plus, he saw that she was actually talking with Kurama and he didn't want to bother them as he had heard earlier that they both hadn't seen each other in a while.

"Oh, thanks Tamaki! You're the best.", Botan said as she briefly faced Tamaki and gave him a quick touch at his forearm. Tamaki just smiled at her in return.

"So, you're a regular here too? It's surprising I missed you all this time.", Kurama asked without really looking at her. He found himself staring blankly instead at the area of Tamaki's forearm, where she had touched him, as he now noted how friendly Botan was with Tamaki. And, as flustered as he was still, he couldn't quite understand even more why he was rather unsettled by that. But then, as he shifted his eyes to look at Botan, he saw that she had seemed to slightly blush as she stared at him blankly after what he had just said. Tamaki then took this brief lull as a sign to quietly return to his workstation. Then, as Kurama realized what he had told her to elicit this reaction from her, he added:

"Uhh… by 'missed' I mean that I haven't even seen or caught you here before, just now… I… Uhh… I frequent this place too after all…". Kurama reasoned out. Still, deep inside he didn't feel like what that had meant otherwise was entirely a lie.

"Ahehehe… Chill, Kurama. Whatever you meant would have been fine with me. I missed you, actually…", Botan responded as she tucked some hair behind her ear then shifted her gaze at her coffee as she stirred in some sugar and fresh milk. At her response and at her actions though, Kurama couldn't help but fully blush himself this time as well. She had just said that she missed him when he couldn't even be upfront about it himself. And, because of that, Kurama felt like an arrow had suddenly landed somewhere on his heart; piercing it violently and without regard to the blanket of walls that he had covered it up with all these years. What is this? Why is this? But Botan hadn't looked up from her coffee so she was not able to catch his flushed face before the color had disappeared yet again. She then added:

"Anyway, yeah, I come here mostly during the evenings of Ningenkai… or, after the end of my shifts in Reikai… if I have time or if I don't have any work left to do, that is."

"I see… so then, now…? …you're here today for some brunch date, perhaps…?", Kurama asked as he cleared his throat inaudibly. He didn't know what had overcame him but he surely was dying to know if she was seeing anyone. He figured, soon after, that his question was rather direct but then he really couldn't think of anything else…or any other way… to ask her.

"Well, I do have a date… but it's with Keiko and the girls. We have decided to go on a little vacation after Shizuru had told us that she found a discount voucher online for a weekend getaway at a spa resort by the hills. It's some four hour drive from here. We all then decided to go so we could unwind and do some much needed catching up.", Botan responded then proceeded to take a sip on her coffee.

"Oh I see. It's nice to hear that you are still actively keeping in touch with each other.", Kurama responded. It was indeed nice to hear that they were still communicating even after all these years but he also couldn't deny that it felt nice (mostly) to hear that she was not waiting on some guy.

"Actually, at the start, it was just Keiko and me. We were able to continuously but occasionally communicate when Yusuke gave her the communicator that I issued to him some years ago. But then, as Shizuru had urged Keiko to tell me to buy a smartphone, because she said that this thing was 'in' nowadays, we now have a group chat where we message each other more frequently. The signal's quite crappy over at Reikai though. But when I'm here in Ningenkai, it's all good."

"Uhuh… that's why you come here often?"

"Yes, partly because of that. And partly because I just really want to hang out sometimes. Hehehe… I have to get rid of all the stress somehow after all."

Just then,

"Uhhh… Mr. Shuiichi, sorry to interrupt again. But here's your order. Please carry on and enjoy.", Tamaki interjected. Then he bowed briefly and sincerely (as if being apologetic for having to disturb them once again) then quietly went away as quickly as he came.

"Thanks, Tamaki… – ", Kurama responded but trailed off as soon as he saw that Tamaki had already returned to his earlier spot back at the cash register. Tamaki then just smiled over to Kurama in return.

"So, how about you? Breakfast brought you here on a weekend? Or, are you here to meet up with someone?", Botan suddenly asked as she smiled into the coffee cup that was half-way into her lips.

"Wha…? N… No, I… I'm not meeting anyone today…", Kurama responded.

"Oh boy… Why do I feel apprehensive at Botan's question now? It's like what I really want to blurt out, just so she knows, is that I don't have a girlfriend …even if she hadn't asked me anything about it… on the other hand, I do hope she doesn't interpret my response as I am actually seeing someone but just not today here, at this coffee shop…", Kurama thought as his heart raced a little bit faster.

He then quickly added,

"I just moved into my new apartment around here which is closer to my workplace. I haven't finished unpacking everything yet and that is why I came here for breakfast… hehehe…"

Botan just smiled in response as she observed that somehow, Kurama seemed a bit shy and quite flustered ever since they met… and just now, turned to be a little bit defensive. Something about Kurama's behavior was rather off than he usually behaved around her all those years ago. Still, it made him cute… and a lot more interesting, she thought. It seemed that she had discovered another side of Kurama that he had never shown to her or to anyone else before. Or, could it be just her imagination since she had just met him again today after all these time? Could distance and absence bring these kinds of feelings about? But, just as she was about to respond… or maybe even tease him just for the sake of it, Keiko suddenly showed up as she said,

"Botan! Sorry we took a while… did you wait long?"

"Oh, hi Keiko! About time, girl. But, it's okay, I didn't really mind.", Botan responded as she looked at Keiko this time. She then stood up as she and Keiko shared a brief hug just like her and Kurama did earlier.

"Oh? Don't we have Kurama here?", Keiko said as soon as it registered to her that the man seated in front of her was Kurama.

"Yes, Keiko, it's plain old me. Hi!", Kurama smiled as he responded, and greeted Keiko, before Botan could even answer Keiko's question.

"Hi, there!", Keiko happily greeted Kurama in return. She then turned to Botan and said,

"So, this is why you didn't want to come at the ramen house directly? You actually have a breakfast date with Kurama here?", Keiko asked as she smirked and playfully tapped on Botan's shoulder.

"Ahahaha… you know what, you're totally right! You caught us red-handed this time, Keiko! We haven't even gone to discuss which movie to watch next weekend, have we?", Botan responded as she joked along to the tone of Keiko's jest. She then smiled and winked at Kurama.

At what she said (even if it was obviously just a joke) and at her wink, Kurama felt that his insides had definitely swelled and started to flutter. "What is this irresistible feeling… like I want to be closer to her and know her more…like I don't already do?", Kurama thought to himself as he just stared blankly at Botan all the while as his insides were all acting up funny.

"Kidding aside, I wanted to come here, Keiko, because I wanted to get me some good coffee before we go. I even ordered coffee and pastries for you girls too, you see?", Botan then quickly added as she pointed at the bar where their coffee and pastries sat waiting. It seemed that she had asked Tamaki earlier, as she placed her order, to separate this batch of orders from her usual because they were for take away.

"Alright, okay! I understand. Hehehe… you know I'm just messing with you. Anyway, is it okay to go now?", Keiko grinned in return and motioned her head back and forth between her and Kurama. She then waved to the car that was waiting outside. Shizuru was apparently driving and Yukina was seated on the passenger's seat.

"Sure, let's go!", Botan exclaimed as soon as she saw that Shizuru had peered out the window; looking worried (and perhaps turning a little impatient now) that some traffic control officer might suddenly show up and give them trouble as she had stopped the car over a "no loading/unloading area". Botan then turned at Kurama and quickly said,

"Uhhh… Kurama it was really nice meeting you and talking with you again in ages. But, we have to go now! Talk to you soon and see you when I see you!"

"S… Sure, Botan. Bye! Have fun, girls!", Kurama responded.

"Thanks! Bye, Kurama!", Botan replied as she gave him one final wave then wrapped her arms around Keiko's. They then quickly headed for the bar to take their orders, bidding goodbye to Tamaki too as they did, and proceeded outside to finally get into the waiting car.

As he saw the car pull away, Kurama then started to drink his coffee and eat his breakfast silently, although with quite a storm of emotions still bottled up inside. As soon as he was done, he then decided to return to his apartment to supposedly get on with unpacking his stuff. But, as soon as the unopened boxes of his things greeted him, he found himself slacking still as he couldn't think of anything else but to check his social media account. So then, after he won an argument against himself who was keen on unpacking and getting things done, he sat on the edge of his bed and took out his phone. He then searched for "Botan" as he figured, on his way home, that they were not yet 'friends' in the app.

He saw that there were several others named Botan but there was this one account on the list, named "Botan-chan" that was mutual friends with Keiko, Shizuru, and Yukina. He clicked on the said account and found that, unfortunately, it was a private account that was why the profile picture and the cover image were not shown.

"Uhuh… so, this would be hers…? …Member since two months ago.", he thought successively as he quickly surveyed her account. Then, without further ado, as he couldn't really see anything from her private profile, he clicked on "Add Friend" then replaced his phone quietly in his pocket. This time though, without so much as a tiny fuss, he found that he was now in the mood to do some unpacking.