It was then Monday and a little just half past seven in the morning. It wasn't too early for work but obviously not late also. At this time, Kurama, coming from the office's basement parking, rode on the office lift to head for his workstation. Even as his new apartment was near his workplace and he could very much reach the office via a 15-minute walk, he thought to drive to the office anyway as he didn't want anyone (more precisely some of his persistent fan girls) to suddenly come up to him and walk with him, while sharing their seemingly interesting weekend stories with him, to the office. Because coming from several unpleasant and mortifying experiences, he did have his share of uninvited and loud companions before. Moreover, and quite importantly, he didn't want for some of the more stalker-ish ones to discover that he had moved nearby lest these fans would crowd his favorite coffee shop or hang out tirelessly outside of his apartment. He didn't really want for the start of his day, and work week… or for the rest of his life… to be ruined like that.

But just as the doors were about to close, Shizuru pressed the "up" button to hold them open as she had also just arrived and thankfully caught it in time. She then stepped inside and bowed briefly to everyone who was inside then said a quick "good morning". Kurama, who was at the back of the lift, knew that with the small crowd of people that was in front of him, Shizuru had certainly not seen him. As the floor for the office cafeteria came and the lift doors opened, Shizuru then stepped out. Meanwhile, Kurama, even as he had grabbed coffee and bread himself as he drove past his favorite coffee on his way to the office, found himself exiting the lift too, hastily but calmly, to follow Shizuru.

"Hey, Shizuru… good morning.", Kurama said as he lightly tapped Shizuru's shoulder from behind as soon as he had caught up with her. Shizuru then quickly turned her head as she recognized his voice.

"Oh, Shuiichi… it's you. Good morning. You're getting breakfast at the cafeteria too?", Shizuru responded as she stopped on her tracks to face Kurama. There was still ample time given that it was just around 7:38 but then, seeing as he had held a coffee in his hand, she gave him a rather questioning look.

"Uhh… yes. I already had coffee but I haven't had anything to eat yet... Do you mind if I come along with you?", Kurama replied (and lied… although it was a white lie, it was still a lie) as he noticed the look that Shizuru gave him. Shizuru thought that he looked sincere and his remark made sense. However, she couldn't also help but think that it was rather unusual, if not outright weird, that out of nowhere, he suddenly wantedto get breakfast with her given that it would only be the second time that he ever did. The first time was actually way back when he was a new employee and they had gotten breakfast together as she wished him luck on his first day.

"No, I don't. Let's go then…", Shizuru just responded as she smiled to him in return, for now.

They now sat in silence at one of the cafeteria tables after they had respectively bought some food. Meanwhile, Kurama couldn't quite understand what urged him to suddenly offer to go with Shizuru when it had left him rather speechless now. Yet, as he searched his mind and his soul, he realized that he was actually aching to ask about their little weekend getaway… and to ask particularly about Botan (especially since she hadn't accepted his friend request even after two days). He was kind of lost in his thoughts as he weighed what to say first or how to ask Shizuru. All the while, not minding the looks that some of their colleagues were giving them.

Kurama was known after all as a bachelor; a much sought-after one at that. Almost all of the single female employees had a crush on him. Even the more senior ones liked him too to be their daughter's boyfriend or, perhaps, their son-in-law. It was not because he was the son and heir apparent to the Company's current President but precisely because of his personality, work ethics and performance, among others. Not to mention the very glaring and obvious fact that he was very handsome and attractive.

He was very adept at everything that he did and was assigned to him, even if sometimes it was outside of Finance. He was highly intelligent and capable which had made a lot of Managers want to take him in their team. Plus, he was very good at dealing and interacting with everyone - from the maintenance crew all the way to the senior bosses.

With regard then to his professional life, others did not even quite understand why he was still an Assistant Manager given his proficiency and performance. If it was because he was younger than most of the Managers, his accomplishments certainly made up for it. On the other hand, and with regard to his more personal life, others were yet to see who has or who will finally capture the eyes and heart of this heartthrob. If he was not interested in and had not developed feelings for any of his 'pursuers' yet (unfortunately for all of them), he still obviously had the daughters of his step-father's Partners as well as all the daughters of the other neighboring businessmen at his disposal. In short, he was quite the perfect gentleman which made him sort of a dreamy and irresistible (to the female, and some male, employees) celebrity within the Company and to several other Companies outside.

And now, since nobody except Kaito really knew of his close friendship with Shizuru, the employees who were also grabbing their breakfast at the cafeteria wondered why they were together. Meanwhile, Shizuru noticed the looks that some of their colleagues were giving them. Others even started to whisper (and probably gossiped that perhaps Kurama was into older women). She didn't really give a damn about what others would think, for this or for any other matter, yet at that particular thought, she sort of shuddered as she felt the creeps suddenly brush her like a cold gust of wind. She wasn't uncomfortable to be with Kurama given all their past experiences (literally life and death) together and with the whole, old gang. But somehow, the atmosphere over at the cafeteria had managed to bother her a bit. So she decided to start talking seeing as Kurama was still somehow silently absorbed in his thoughts ever since they sat down.

"So, to what do I specifically owe the pleasure of your company, Kurama?", Shizuru asked as she began to eat the sandwich that she bought. Kurama, on the other hand, was seated opposite from her and had started to eat the banana that he bought as well. As she had quickly scanned their surroundings a while ago and found it safe that no one was listening in on their conversation, she decided to address him by his true name.

"Ohh… uuhmm… it's just that… I wanted to confirm, ahead of our meeting with the other departments later today, if you had incorporated into your revised presentation the additional budget that I proposed for the posters and other marketing materials for our upcoming promotional event…?", Kurama replied. He had quickly scoured his brain to come up with a seemingly appropriate excuse… so he thought.

"Yes, of course we did. As soon as the discussions in our previous meeting ended, and your proposal was approved for inclusion, I had one of my staffs revise our presentation immediately. But… you asking me this now… couldn't your question have waited at the meeting later instead?", Shizuru responded. She wasn't exactly peeved, just incredulous. And when she is somewhat curious, she doesn't mince her words. Especially not with him since they are close friends.

"You're right, it could have. But then I thought to confirm with you ahead as the meeting later could go on and discuss more pressing matters. And, I really don't wanna have to needlessly interrupt with a simple question such as this.", Kurama replied. He briefly smiled then drank some coffee. If some of Shizuru's staffs or colleagues felt intimated by her frank questions and remarks, he felt rather unperturbed as he knew her.

"Uhuh…? But you know very well that before we start with new discussions, we recap the points that were raised in a previous meeting, right? So your question would have been covered. And, moving on, are you saying that you are gonna accompany me to breakfast every morning to ask questions like this? How is this different from all our previous meetings? You do know that we have an internal communication system, right? Where, you know… you could just email or call me…?", Shizuru said plainly and matter-of-factly. All the while, she couldn't put her finger on it but something about what Kurama was telling her now doesn't exactly add up to how he was acting. She knew Kurama very well for him not to know all these basic stuff. If her memory even served her right, she was quite sure that it was Kurama who had instilled the said practice of recapping points raised in previous meetings himself. She then decided to wait for his next response just to see where he was planning to go with this.

"Well, you're right about that. But seeing as I coincidentally met you at the lift this morning, I thought to just come with you here and ask anyway. Why, don't you wanna talk with me?"

"Hmmmm…", Shizuru hummed then paused, as she lowered the sandwich that she was eating, to look at Kurama intently while raising one of her eyebrows as she did. If she had thought just a second ago to wait for his next response to see where he was getting at, she was now getting a little impatient with all these nonsense "work talk" when she knew that something definitely smelled fishy now. This was Kurama she was talking with. How come something as obnoxiously stupid and trivial as "don't you wanna talk with me" had suddenly come up now? What bullshit!

"Ahahahaha! Ohhh, Kurama… we've been friends for, what…10? 12 years…? Now, we both know that you have actually something else in that mind of yours so don't you go making up stupid excuses, not with me. So, what is it that you really wanna ask…?", Shizuru finally blurted out in behalf of both of them as she then continued to chew on her sandwich.

Kurama was quite taken aback at Shizuru's no 'BS' remark. He wasn't exactly surprised that Shizuru was this keen. He was just quite surprised that Shizuru was this mercilessly direct; peeling him open like an orange right then and there. And it's not that he didn't see that coming or, that he didn't get what he had been inadvertently asking for (with his behavior and whatnot). Then he paused thoughtfully and responded, as he realized that there really was no way he could escape Shizuru's scrutiny:

"Wow, you really are perceptive even after all this time, Shizuru. Well, okay… so… I heard about your weekend trip at the hills… how was it..?"

"There you go…! Now, that's more like it!", Shizuru now smiled as Kurama had finally gotten more honest with what he really wanted to ask her.

"Uhh… It was fine, we enjoyed a lot. But then… what exactly about this trip has made you suddenly want to get breakfast with me and make up some lame excuses..?", Shizuru asked as a little frown of confusion crossed her face once again. Never did she imagine that Kurama would be so interested about their all-girl's trip that he would actually go out of his way and ask her about it. So, what gives? Was he planning on a similar trip with his family perhaps?

"Oohh… that's really good to hear… hmm… well… it's just that… I… hadn't really seen Botan in a long time… hehehe… so, you know… it just… made me… wonder…", Kurama stuttered as he decided to finally just be blunt about it. He felt so stupid now for approaching Shizuru just like that when he couldn't even come up with a remarkable way around her to discreetly ask about the ferry girl. Or, that he couldn't even gather his thoughts to come up with something to make him sound like he wasn't too interested with her and attempt to mask that fact. For one of the rarest moments of his long life, it would seem that he had actually suffered what others called an 'epic fail'.

"Botan…? Ohh… I see what this is now…", Shizuru thought as she was slightly surprised at the sudden mention of her name. She then gently smiled, a realization dawning on her, as she had now understood what came over Kurama. Add to that the fact that Kurama had slightly blushed after he had mentioned her name. So he's crushing on her, huh?

"If you're so interested with her, why don't you talk to her then?", Shizuru responded as she now proceeded to sip on a straw from her canned orange juice.

"What…?", Kurama spurted in his vain attempt to sound startled by what Shizuru had somehow accurately surmised. But then he realized that there really was no point to reason out or excuse himself further out of the Shizuru's conclusion when he couldn't even begin to deny it.

"Hehehe… well, if it's anything… she was quite curious about you too, now that I think about it. She couldn't seem to help but ask about you after I told her that we work together…", Shizuru added as she directed her eyes up while seemingly recalling said event.

"Is… is that so…? Hehehe… well… to your earlier suggestion, I did send her a friend request via 'facenote' last Saturday….for starters…", Kurama said. He had now fully resigned to hiding behind excuses as he knew that Shizuru had seen through him. And it's not because he wanted to hide or be secretive with the fact that he was attracted to Botan. He had just wanted to be discreet about it…for now. Since they were all friends, he knew that, sooner or later, if things came together and have turned out to be something, all of them will come to know about it anyway.

"Friend request? Oh, right! She had just joined 'facenote' about two months ago and we are her only 'friends' so far since she doesn't have the nicest connection over at Reikai… and also, over at the spa resort by the hills, there wasn't exactly a good, steady signal neither… But then, even if the signal had been fine, we all actually agreed to put our phones aside so that we could truly spend quality time together… so, she hadn't really checked her phone since we arrived.", Shizuru said. She was about to take another bite of her sandwich when her face lit up, as she seemed to have recalled something more. She then proceeded to add:

"Oh… And also because of another thing… on our way to the hills, she did turn down and block some guy who was incessantly sending her messages after he had sent her a friend request. And we really couldn't blame her though… as we were also starting to get deaf and irritated ourselves by the sound of her message notification going off every second or so. She really hates the creepy, clingy-ish ones, you know… and I can't seem to disagree with her on that…"

"That wasn't you, was it?", Shizuru then asked.

"What?! Of course that wasn't me!", Kurama exclaimed as he was startled at Shizuru's question. He then felt a mix of relief (since Botan had apparently turned down some obnoxious creep) and irritation (since apparently, some obnoxious creep had been messaging and bugging her).

"If that's the case, you're good then. So, don't worry… she'll come around maybe tonight, at least.", Shizuru added as she grinned devilishly at Kurama, supposedly to subtly tease him, now.

"I… I'm not worried…! Ha,ha,ha,…", Kurama responded as he felt quite shy now that another person, other than himself, knew about his attraction to Botan.

"Really…? Oh come on, don't be shy. I promise I won't tell anyone. Okay? So… do you want me to give you her number?", Shizuru prodded.

"Uhh… no thanks, Shizuru. I will have to pass on that… I… I'm actually planning to ask for her number myself…", Kurama responded.

"Ohohoww… alright, way to go!", Shizuru happily exclaimed as she simultaneously felt genuinely excited; the future for two of her closest friends was bright, it seemed. She had grown with them after all and, knowing the both of them – their history, their shared experiences, their tendencies, and even their true selves - she thought that they were actually quite the perfect match… not to mention 'visually aesthetic'. She then decided, as she promised him, not to tell anyone not even her younger brother, or Yukina and Keiko about any of this. She thought that she had wanted to witness for herself, as well as for the others, how things would unravel on their own and on their own pace. But then she quickly added, as a side note:

"And, Kurama… if you ever want to ask anything of this sort again, you know that you can always message me… alright?" She had wanted to express to him, before she would fully seal her lips on the said topic, that he can come to her anytime and that she would, in turn, gladly extend any assistance that she can give because, really, Kurama felt more like a younger brother to her, if not a close friend.

"Y.. Yes… Thanks, Shizuru. I'll keep that in mind.", Kurama responded in understanding as he smiled to her.

"No problem…"

With that they both finished their breakfast and headed for their respective workstations. If earlier in the day, Kurama felt that he had been stupid and impulsive with suddenly approaching Shizuru out of nowhere without so much as a clear mind and structured plan, he was now grateful that he had decided to talk with her. Because unknown to her, he had actually been having troubles over the weekend coming to grips with himself and understanding exactly what it was that he had been feeling. He even thought that perhaps the change of having to live alone might have caused it. It was one of life's major milestones and rather huge change of phases after all; like opening a new, unexplored chapter of the mysterious book of life.

But then, as Shizuru had somehow helped him to determine and point it out clearly for himself, he realized that perhaps seeing Botan again, in a new but familiar light, had made him finally admit to himself that he was interested in her. It was probable that these feelings had been there all along he just didn't want to see or address these at the time as he prioritized yokais and Spirit Detective stuffs then. Or, that because he had dedicated his focus on his mother's safety and happiness, the group's dynamics, and over-all relationships back then instead.

But now, with nothing but an ephemeral and innocent moment in time serving as a serendipitous key that unlocked all of his suppressed feelings, these then came bubbling to the surface as he met her once again in a rather special place, and momentous phase, in his life. He then felt that he could now more gladly go astride the pages of this new chapter as his life's story suddenly took on an interesting and exciting turn.

Meanwhile, Shizuru, as her work day proceeded as usual so far, hadn't really expected to receive a strange email later in the afternoon. As she opened and read the said email, which came with a peculiar email subject thus inviting her curiosity to do so, she could only gape and drop her mouth open as it appeared that a "group" of older, single women in the office had invited her to a "fan club" meeting over lunch the following day. She was invited as an honorary guest with a request that she "share a speech to, hopefully, raise the spirits of other women who, like her, admired 'the' Mr. Shuiichi Minamino".

As she couldn't help but uncontrollably laugh on her own, placing one of her hands on her face as she did, she couldn't believe the insanity that she was now faced with… which then made her mutter nothing but, "Oh, fuck…".

At last, the first day of work came to an end. Kurama, who had been having an added feeling of lightness on his heels, ever since his conversation with Shizuru over breakfast, had effortlessly made it through the whole day despite him having to face a continuous heap of work and several other meetings. Even as he was being inconspicuous of the joy that had overflowed within him, his behavior had somehow involuntarily exuded this show of rare bright and happy mood to others, especially to the eyes of the more observant (stalker-ish) ones.

He had been always efficient with his work but, somehow, he seemed different today. It would seem that he was inspired today. It would appear that the Marketing Department Manager had lifted his spirits way up, so the others had said. They were even sort of laughing over breakfast amidst what seemed like some heartfelt conversations, added several more. Because of these, the misdirected office gossip that started grew and spread like wild fire, inevitably placing poor Shizuru in the spot light. Of course, the older, single women, were just as fast with the gossip as their younger competitors. What set them apart though was that the "club" President, after she had consulted with her other club officers first, had decided to take concrete action as she, after she had brushed her fear (of Shizuru) aside and chose absurd childishness over professionalism, decided to send Shizuru an email, later in the afternoon of that day, to invite her to one of their "club" meetings.

Now, as Kurama exited the lift to head for his car to head home, he saw Shizuru, standing a few spaces from the lift by the ash tray that was attached to the basement wall, smoking a cigarette. Even after all these years, Shizuru had not really given up smoking as it had become more of an addiction, instead of just a hobby, for her. But seeing Shizuru just outside the lift, he couldn't help but notice that she had looked somewhat stressed… and jittery; and lost in heavy thought as she did. Whatever it was, her face had donned an expression that seemed like she had wanted to murder someone.

"Hey, Shizuru… The balcony's crowded now, huh?", Kurama asked as he stopped just a few steps outside of the lift. He had felt a little worried over the apparent condition of his friend.

"Oh, Kurama. Hey. Uhhh… I prefer the rooftop. But, yes… it's quite suffocating today.", Shizuru responded as she held the cigarette near her mouth while her elbow rested on her other arm that was wrapped around her stomach.

"Eh? The rooftop is suffocating? I didn't know there were a lot of smokers in this Company to crowd the rooftop that much…", Kurama thought as he fell silent and imagined, for a brief moment, the mob of employees that were apparently at the rooftop at that time. Was there some kind of an official after-office event that he missed, perhaps? But then, he hadn't received any notice of it (like a request for funding or so) so it must probably be one of the more 'personal get-togethers' for the other employees… Still, it was the first day of the work week and, surely, something like that, if there was, could wait till Friday, couldn't it? Hmmm… perhaps people are more spontaneous and daredevil that way, nowadays…?

"But uh, I was actually on my way home as I really feel like a huge headache is gonna hit me anytime. Yet as I passed by the inviting view of the ash tray here, I just couldn't resist smoking one more for the road… So, uhh.. you're heading out now too?", Shizuru responded to interrupt Kurama's thoughts and imagination as he stood with quite a puzzled look on his face. "If I don't stop his train of thoughts now, he might just call me on my bluff and check the roof out for himself… and that's bad", Shizuru thought.

"Yes, I am. Umm… do you need medicinal plants, perhaps? I can make you some...", Kurama then asked. To that day, he can very much still use his spirit energy and/or yoki to create some plants.

"Huh?"

"… For your headache…?"

"Oh… umm no, I'm fine! He,he,he,… Go on now, then. See you tomorrow.", Shizuru responded as she managed to put up a forced, crooked smile. She had decided to cut their conversation short lest some other *stupid* people could inadvertently see them talking and add more fuel to the raging fire.

"Well, okay. Bye then! See you tomorrow.", Kurama said as he smiled to her in return. He did not involve himself in any form of office gossip after all so he was largely oblivious to the predicament that Shizuru was having. He just thought then that perhaps Shizuru must have had a bad work day... or afternoon. With the way that she had dismissed him too, it would appear that she didn't want to chat with him…or even with anyone. Because of that, he had decided to just let her be.

As Kurama had finally left her to head for his car, Shizuru stood silently still as she racked her brain hard to think of ways to put a stop to this escalating insanity before it could erupt into a full scale comedic drama (where she was unfortunately the only one who found it funny). But just as the headache that she imagined earlier had decided to slowly manifest, the lift doors opened. Kaito Yu then stepped out of the lift to head for his car too, apparently. Yet, as he saw Shizuru at the side, he momentarily stopped to observe her too. Shizuru then turned her head to look at the direction of the lift as it sounded. Then, as their eyes met, her eyes grew wide and her mouth curved up to form a smile as her mind had suddenly come up with an idea.

Outside on the road, a light traffic started to form as it had started to lightly drizzle. Because of this, Kurama's car stopped perfectly just outside of his favorite coffee shop. As he leaned on one of his hands that had rested by the driver's window, he couldn't help but give the shop a quick survey to see if the person he had been thinking of the whole day was there. There were some people inside but, as he had expected, she was not there. Even still, it made him smile softly as he recalled their surprise meeting, after what felt like forever, two days ago. Not long after though, the traffic started to ease so then he continued to drive home.

Time passed and it was now quarter to eight in the evening. After he had finished eating his dinner, he laid on his bed to stare blankly at the ceiling while his phone was right beside him. He had been checking, ever since he arrived home, if his 'friend request' had already been granted. Unfortunately, as he checked just seconds ago for the nth time that day, it remained to be a request still. He then thought that Tamaki's 8-hour shift would soon be ending. Perhaps she couldn't come tonight because of work? Maybe even because of the drizzle?

Just then, as he had started to become uneasy with the noise that his mind had been making, his in-app notification suddenly made a sound. He then promptly took his phone to bring it to his eyes as he checked if his request had finally been granted.

And it had!

His heart then raced and his eyes grew wide. He couldn't decide, with the rush of emotions flooding him, which made him feel more excited – the fact that they were now friends in the app? Or, the fact that she must probably be at his favorite coffee shop right at that instant?

Now if his mind was on the speed of sound (at thinking of a bunch of things and coming up with stuff), his legs were definitely on the speed of light as they carried him, much like how he had thoughtlessly followed Shizuru out of the lift earlier that day, outside of his house and heading for the coffee shop. He wasn't even sure if indeed Botan was at the coffee shop. There was the possibility after all that the signal over at Reikai had experienced one of their finer days (or nights) right about now, he thought. Yet his eyes and his body wouldn't take heed of any of his second thoughts as they yearned to see and confirm her presence for their own. Good thing that the weather had decided to apparently cooperate as the drizzle from earlier had now stopped.

As he arrived panting outside of the coffee shop, he stopped himself just in time from emphatically entering the shop and looking like a pitiful amateur thief who had been busted and was now being chased by the cops. So he stood outside for a while and took deep breaths to calm his racing heart and jagged breathing first. As he had skillfully calmed himself down, much like how he had to calm himself down all those years ago before facing an enemy like, say, Elder Toguro who was devoured by Gourmet but had managed to turn the tables as he had, in turn, taken his body over, he then decided to finally open the shop's door to come in in a more relaxed state.

The time was now seven minutes to eight and Tamaki was about to remove his apron to head out of work as his shift for the day was about to end. But, as soon as he saw that Kurama had entered the shop, he flashed him his usual friendly smile. Then, without so much as a word, pointed towards the direction of his usual spot by the window.

Ever since the day that Tamaki had witnessed the reunion of these two beautiful people, he felt, right then and there, that something magical and unspoken between them would somehow drive them together sooner or later. In fact, since he had known these two for quite some time, he had actually always wanted, out of friendship and the goodness of his heart, to introduce these two to one another someday.

They would seem perfect together, so he thought before. Kurama, as mysteriously calm and quiet as he was, could certainly benefit from the bright and bubbly atmosphere that Botan carried with her. And it was because Kurama, even as he looked like he was contented with his life, had come off to him as somewhat lonely. Why he was lonely, he never understood. With the looks that he had, he could definitely date and change girlfriends any day, if he liked. Not to mention that Kurama was really kind to him and to just about anyone. Yet, he never brought any girl and would visit the shop alone to just spend his time quietly at his usual corner.

Botan, on the other hand, was the perfect dose of sunshine and happiness that could brighten up this man's world. She was truly stunning – earning herself several admirers from the other customers who had come up to her on a lot of instances to engage in a conversation with her – and was also kind, approachable, and fun. He thought, precisely, that one would never have to be lonely if she was his/her friend. However, he had observed that she had always rejected her admirers the moment they confessed their feelings to her, or the moment that they showed any subtle clues or obvious hints of their attraction to her. Why she did, he never knew. Yet now, all he could really think about was that fate certainly had its funny way of poking up at random times and places, blindsiding him… or perhaps even them… as they had both known each other, and were good friends, after all.

Now at Tamaki's gesture, Kurama just nodded and smiled in return. He then made his way silently and calmly towards his usual spot to approach Botan.

"Hey, there! It's nice to see you here again, Botan.", Kurama said as he came nearer and stood by her small table.

"Oh, Kurama! Hey! It's nice to see you too!", Botan responded while feeling surprised.

"But, are you…are you okay…? You look rather… disheveled…", Botan couldn't help but ask as she noticed that his shirt was partly untucked and some of his hair were out of its usual place. It would seem that he ran all the way to here? If he did, who was he running from…? His fan girls... at this time…?

"Ahahahaha… what do you mean? I… I have always been like this…", Kurama responded as he placed one of his hands behind his head. He then quickly fixed his shirt and brushed his hair with his fingers.

"…. Is… Is that so…?", Botan muttered in response. She then quickly looked outside towards the door to check if some deranged lunatic had tailed him.

"Well then, don't just stand there. Come, sit with me.", Botan then said as soon as she had confirmed for herself that no one came running after him. She then gave him a soft, sympathetic smile, for what its worth, then decided not to prod any further.

"O… Okay… hehehe", Kurama replied shortly. He then sat on the chair that was beside her.

"Uhh… But I hope I'm not disturbing some of your alone time…? I did show up suddenly… uninvited…", Kurama decided to ask as he remembered that Botan had said something about wanting to hangout [by herself] sometimes.

"Of course not! You're not what I would call a disturbance, silly!", Botan cheerily replied as she lightly tapped Kurama's shoulder. She then beamed at him which made him slightly blush and speechless again. Thankfully, Tamaki came up to them to serve them their food.

"Hi Ms. Botan, Mr. Shuiichi. It's nice to see the both of you here again. Here are your drinks and desserts.", Tamaki said. He then smiled serenely at them as he took in the marvelous sight of these two… together.

"Wow! Thank you, Tamaki! You know you can just call us at the bar, right?", Botan replied in her usual bubbly manner.

"But, are you on extended working hours tonight?", she then added as she noticed, with the clock attached to the wall, that the time now read 8:05. Kurama, on the other hand, had remained speechless as he was puzzled now as to why Tamaki had handed them two sets of drinks and desserts when he was sure that he had not even ordered anything.

"Oh, it's the least I can do for two of my favorite people so don't worry about it, Ms. Botan. I'm heading out after this, actually. Let me just wish you two a pleasant evening before I do. Now then, please enjoy. And oh! If you need anything else, please let my colleague, Haruhi, know. She will be very delighted to assist you and be of service to you.", Tamaki replied. He then briefly turned his head to the direction of the bar to wave at Haruhi. Haruhi, seeing as the three of them had looked over to her, then gave a smile of her own and waved her hand in return.

Then, as Tamaki noticed that Botan had returned her eyes at the table to delightfully look at the desserts that he dished out to them, he then shifted his eyes to meet Kurama's. He knew that Kurama would be puzzled and, and as he met Kurama's questioning gaze, he gave him a quick wink then mouthed "on the house". Kurama then understood and gave Tamaki a grateful smile in return. He then mouthed "thank you" to him as well. With that, and feeling that everything had been perfectly set, Tamaki gave him a small wave from his hand then proceeded to leave quietly.

"He's really just so sweet, yes?", Botan said as she now ate a small piece of her cake. She had been busy looking at her cake thus she hadn't noticed the quick and quiet exchange of the two earlier.

"Yes… yes, he is. He's one of the best. I mean… he's the best…", Kurama replied. He then reached out for the cup of coffee that was in front of him and smiled at it quietly and solemnly.

"Well, then… this is quite the first time that I saw you here tonight. What brings you here again, Kurama?", Botan asked after silently observing Kurama's face. It would seem that Kurama, for a brief second there, thought of something bright and fluffy, which then elicited a kind of a gentle smile on his face. And because of that, her curiosity with him grew even more.

Like she said earlier, Kurama was not what she would call a 'disturbance'. Although, unknown to him, ever since the day they met, he had somehow disturbed her (more than she had expected and permitted herself to and more than she was willing to admit) as much as she had disturbed him. And now, as she recalled that she had asked him two days ago if he was meeting anyone at the coffee shop that day, he had responded to her question rather vaguely then. Shizuru's responses to her subtle questions about him back at the resort had not helped neither as she had just responded loosely that "Kurama was and is still hounded by a lot of girls". Thus, she thought to discreetly ask him about this again so that she could begin to discern where she had to stand and place herself in all this.

"I… uhhh… I just really wanted to grab some coffee… and cake… before I sleep… these make me uhh… relax… hehehe…", Kurama responded as he looked at the coffee in his hand; never mind if it was another one of his white lies again. Since it was the first time that he had visited the coffee shop in the evening, he figured that Tamaki must have thought of no other drink other than his usual order. Perhaps he thought to err on the safe side as he didn't know if Kurama drank tea or juice (and what types/flavors of these he preferred, if he did), or had allergies, for instance, to the other ingredients that he doesn't mix in with his usual drink.

"Oh really? Wow…for me it's the exact opposite. If I had coffee now I would be wide awake till, say, three in the morning…", Botan replied unaware of the fact that one of them will surely have to stay awake till the early hours of the morning.

If it was because of the coffee or because of thoughts of her, well, only Kurama would know. Nevertheless, it would seem to her that with his response just now, Kurama had somehow established that he was actually not seeing anyone. Because if he did, he would have told her about that already, wouldn't he? I mean, why would he even lie and mask/hide that fact, in the first place? He would have responded, perhaps, that he was actually waiting for someone and that, while he waited, he will sit with her. But because of what he had just responded to her, it would seem that he had no other plans for the rest of the night other than to just get coffee and cake (with her now too as they had met yet again, coincidentally).

"Something tells me you've had your share of sleepy mornings then, huh?", Kurama then asked.

"Oh yes! Hahahaha…! And it didn't help that Koenma pushed me even harder to work when he saw me rather sleepy and lethargic the next day…", Botan cheerily replied with a toothy grin as she recalled the said event.

"You've got a really conscientious boss, I see… even after all this time."

"Mmmm… conscientious meaning the part where he is meticulous or thorough? Possibly. But if you mean the part where he is supposedly guided by his conscience, then I beg to disagree… hehehe!", Botan replied as she giggled. Meanwhile, Kurama couldn't help but chuckle himself too as he began to imagine Botan's face reacting indignantly, but still quite cutely, to Koenma's reprimands then.

After they shared a good laugh at Botan's joke, and with feelings of having to initially tread with caution or restraint now gone from the both of them, they then chatted some more and exchanged jokes here and there. With the little space that they shared and the atmosphere that they had created around it together, it was as if all the time and years that had passed had only been numbers, if anything, as they felt comfortable with each other now more than ever. Come to think of it, they did only talk about "work" before and had been pretty awkward with each other then. Perhaps this new-found dynamic in their friendship, first of all and before anything else, and level of comfort had something to do with them not being "colleagues" anymore. Or, perhaps it was because they were older and more matured now.

Still, as Botan had told him that she had scouted three new prospective Spirit Detectives, Kurama assured her that she could always come to him if she needed any help. And it was in fact because Kurama thought that if he could spend more time with her, even as sort of an elective teammate once again, he would definitely not let that opportunity pass. Botan, on the other hand, felt truly grateful with the help that he offered as she thought that he was still really helpful and selfless after all this time. Yet, she couldn't deny that she had also actually thought that it would be nice and great if she could get to see him more, and to be able to talk with him and share a lot more things and new experiences with him, instead of just meeting him here at the coffee shop.

Not long after, Botan started to take pictures of their food, as they had barely touched it amidst their continuous conversations, as she told him that, more than anything, pictures have this sort of mystical power that remind her of pleasant memories and of the feelings she harbored at the time of those memories. It was for this reason that she took pictures at all instead of, say, just showing off (through social media) that she was having a good time drinking some specialty coffee and eating a classy slice of cake over at some fancy coffee shop. Kurama, as he had found this hobby and perspective of Botan quite interesting and noteworthy, suddenly thought of something. But then he thought that it could wait till later and had, instead, introduced her to the existence of memes, GIFs, and stickers.

As the night wore on, and as their drinks and desserts were now almost fully consumed, Kurama knew that she had to return to Reikai soon. So then, he decided take his phone out to do the thing that he had thought of earlier.

"Ummm… Botan… before we call it a night, do you mind if I take a quick picture of you?"

"Hmmm..?"

"It's just that what you said earlier about you wanting to take pictures so that you could be reminded of pleasant memories and of your feelings at the time of that certain memory… I realized that I actually agree with you and want to do something of that sort too… so that now, and for the coming days, I am always reminded of this, here with you…", Kurama said.

He felt his heart race and his face getting warmer. Nonetheless he shoved these petty sensations aside lest they get in the way of what he now wanted to say, as, between the two of them, he had not really been upfront to her with anything yet. But then he knew that if he had wanted to make her feel that he regarded her as more than just a friend, then he definitely needed to start talking more directly and act on it.

"Oh, sure… I… don't mind", Botan just replied. She had actually felt warm and fuzzy at what he said and had even observed that Kurama had somehow blushed at her.

Now if Kurama had been one of those guys who had now begun to show her that they were interested in her, now was the time that she would, in turn, start bursting their bubbles. If this was not Kurama, she would now find herself making excuses like she didn't want her picture to be taken lest someone would see her picture and mistake her as that guy's girlfriend or something. She would then go on and say that she didn't want to pose any kind of misunderstanding such as that as she found that guy just like a brother or a dear friend to her. Yet now, she found that she didn't have the will or even the slightest ounce of hesitation to turn him away as she felt that she was strongly drawn to him too. Hell, if any other girl would find her picture on his phone (or even on his social media account if he would think to post her picture there, perhaps) then that would be perfect, she thought. Boldly and quite shamelessly.

But then she sternly reminded and checked herself, before she made any unreasonable assumptions and before she could blow anything out of proportion, that he had only wanted to take her picture, nothing more and nothing less; never mind if he had said something quite sweet and suggestive after that. And also, even if the way they had chatted since earlier had indeed felt different, seeing as nothing sort of definite had been said just yet, she thought that it was still too early to conclude anything. For now, she decided to just comply with his request as she really didn't mind it. They were friends after all anyway.

*Click* Kurama's phone made a sound as he took her picture.

"There. I definitely believe I got a good one… Thanks!"

"Oh, but one last thing…", Kurama immediately added.

As Kurama proceeded to fumble on his phone, Botan just found herself looking on to him and at his phone, silently and quite curiously. She then saw that he had now gone into his phone's 'gallery' then selected the picture of her that he just took. With just a few more quick selections and taps, he had then made her picture his phone's wallpaper.

"Now, this is quite a perfect reminder, I'd say. What do you think, Botan?

… Do you think that the girl I'm heavily crushing on is truly stunning and extremely beautiful?"

He asked her as he showed her his phone and smiled. He blushed beet red as he did but he looked at her eyes unwaveringly and sincerely. Now he wasn't really planning on asking for her permission or even for her consent to do this but he thought to show it to her anyway so that from this, and more importantly from the rather daring declaration of his that ensued, she could begin to understand his feelings for her (if she hadn't still).

Botan blinked in response at what he did and at what he had just revealed. Now surely, that was something definite! And because of that, she had now obviously understood his feelings for her which made her face blush bright red as well. She then smiled and softly responded to him as she rested her chin on the back of her intertwined hands,

"Yes, it's nice… That would be a perfect reminder, indeed…"

Shortly after they had finished their food and left the coffee shop, they now walked towards Kurama's apartment. Botan needed to materialize her oar somewhere private and Kurama thought, since it was already ten o'clock in the evening, that no one was probably outside of his apartment complex so it would be the perfect private place for her. On the other hand, she didn't think it was a bad idea all together as she had also somehow wanted to see where he lived. As they arrived outside of his apartment complex, they now found themselves silently stood by a tree.

"So uhhh… this is where I live…", Kurama said as he placed his hands inside his pocket and smiled at her.

"So I see… you have quite a decent number of neighbors despite your apartment located in the middle of the city, huh?", Botan responded as she gave his apartment complex a quick look. The complex was not high-rise as it had only four floors and six apartment units per floor. It spread horizontally, instead of vertically, in somewhat like a pointy U-shaped area. Two units occupied each of the opposite wings while two other units occupied the adjoining center part. Kurama's car, as well as the other owners'/tenants' cars, were parked under shaded parking spaces at the ground floor of each side of the complex's wings. Meanwhile, the center area held a small landscaped garden with a tiny fountain in the middle.

"Yeah, that is one of the great things about this place. Because it is spacious, it really is quiet and peaceful despite the hustle and bustle of the city…"

"It certainly looks like it is… hmm… well then, I had a great time, Kurama. Thank you…", Botan said and she smiled and finally materialized her oar with her hand.

"I had a great time too, Botan… Thanks…", Kurama responded.

But then, he was suddenly reminded of something which made him add:

"Oh right! Before you go… I have been meaning to ask for your number… I know that there's 'messenger' now but I figured it would be much quicker to contact you on your phone, just in case… so… ", Kurama spurted before Botan could mount her oar.

"Well, sure… Give me your phone…", Botan said as she held out her hand to take his phone and smiled at him.

"There… My number's saved as 'Bot-chan'", Botan said as she returned his phone to him after she had saved her contact details.

"Yup, it's here. Thanks! Can I just give you a quick call then…? You know, just to check it this isn't one of your burner phone numbers… hehehe", Kurama joked. But really, he just wanted her to be able to save his number too afterwards.

"Ahahahaha! You silly! Why would I give you a burner phone number…? Something tells me someone here is notorious in handing out fake numbers, eh? And it isn't me.", Botan replied.

"Well, that someone wouldn't be me neither as I don't even talk to a lot of girls…"

"Really now…?"

"Yeah, really… I only have one girl in my mind… and she is the only girl that I wanna have to talk with…", Kurama responded as he looked into her eyes intently once again and blushed. Botan blushed profusely herself but found that her voice had gone somewhere else to leave her alone… and perhaps scream on her behalf.

"Well then, I don't wanna hold you up here any longer. But I'll go on inside only after you've left…"

"Okay, Kurama…", Botan finally managed to respond. She was about to mount her oar but then she paused and thought of something; her blush never leaving her face as she did. If anything, it had become more evident than it could possibly can. Then she added:

"Well, before I go, I have been wanting to give you something else aside from my number…"

"Hmmm?"

Then Botan suddenly came nearer to him and planted a soft, brief kiss on his cheek. Kurama then sharply felt like his legs had turned into spaghetti as he resulted to even use some of his spirit energy to keep standing upright. And it didn't help too that the rush of blood to his face and head had made him very dizzy.

"There! It's not a picture but I do hope you remember just as well. Good night, Kurama! And see you soon…", Botan said as she pulled away and smiled. She then quickly mounted her oar and proceeded to fly away to head back to Reikai. She couldn't believe what she just did and what came over her. But then she thought that it certainly felt good and that it was an appropriate initial response to his confessions to let him know that she felt immensely attracted to him too.

Back at the tree, Kurama stood frozen for a while longer. He then ran his hand gently over his cheek as he looked at Botan disappear towards the sky above. He couldn't hear anything except the loud and incessant beating of his heart. With a smile on his face, and a massive tide of overwhelming joy thrashing his heart and all of him once again, he whispered to the wind in the hopes that his words would somehow reach the lovely deity as she now turned into nothing but a tiny sparkle in the sky:

"I'll surely treasure this, Botan. Good night…".