Please see disclaimer in Chapter 1. Comprehensive author's notes will appear at the end of the final chapter. In the meantime, comments and criticism are relished. Please enjoy your reading.
"Going Gently"
By Port
Chapter 6
The house looked typical enough, except for the broken window on the second floor, above the slanted roof of the porch. Petunias and daffodils thrived in a long bed that curved around the perimeter of the house, and some kind of creepy vine climbed up the outer walls. Kurama probably knew what kind of vine it was, but Botan wasn't going to ask him for its name. She wouldn't know how.
She, Yusuke, Kurama and Kuwabara stood on the sidewalk, gazing intently at the suburban home. It had a small lawn overgrown with clover, weighed down in the morning dew. The house looked comfortable, neither rich nor poor. Two cars were parked in the driveway, shaded by cherry trees, and some child-sized bikes were parked behind the iron gate to the back yard. White curtains blocked all the windows, except for the shattered one on the second floor. It looked dark in there.
They all completed the cursory inspection at about the same time. The boys shared a glance, then Yusuke turned to Botan. "I don't sense any spirit energy. Are you sure this is the place?"
She nodded. "Kuwabara, what about you?"
The tall boy squinted at the upper story. "There's definitely something freaky about that room, Botan. But I can't tell what it is."
There was a pause, during which Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to expect Botan to ask Kurama his thoughts. The moment dragged on. Finally, Kurama simply said, "I can detect residual traces of spirit energy."
"How come you can and I can't?" Yusuke asked, frowning.
"Think about the nature of the energy and the suspected source," Kurama murmured patiently. Yusuke thought about it for a second and nodded.
"Good enough for me. What next?"
"Now, we introduce ourselves," Botan said. She led the way to the door and knocked loudly. Closely behind her, the boys followed. After a moment, the door opened. Botan saw the spirit detectives tense, until the entrance revealed a middle-aged woman wearing an oversized blue dress shirt and grey slacks. Her black hair was pulled up casually in a scrunchie. The housewife looked typical enough, except for the grey circles under her eyes.
A moment passed as she looked at her visitors.
Belatedly, Botan realized the boys were all wearing their school uniforms. She hoped this lady wouldn't report them for truancy. Botan herself had traded her usual school uniform for a pair of jeans, T-shirt and leather jacket, not unlike the ensemble she had worn during the demon insect infestation earlier this year.
"Good morning," the woman said, bowing slightly at the neck. "May I help you?"
"Mrs. Takagi?" Botan asked. The woman nodded. "My name is Botan. My associates and I are here to help you with your problem."
"There… must be some mistake," Mrs. Takagi said. She developed a pinched look around her eyes and mouth. "There is no problem here."
"The one upstairs?" Botan said. Mrs. Takagi gasped. "You've been having visitors, haven't you?"
"How could you know?" Tears came into Mrs. Takagi's eyes. "We haven't told anyone."
"Well, we're special that way," Yusuke said quickly, probably in an attempt to head off those tears. "We're your own personal ghost-busting squad." He grinned as wide as he could, comically raising his eyebrows. Botan sighed. Urameshi charm at work. "You gonna invite us in or what?"
Botan slapped her forehead, but Mrs. Takagi smiled softly. "Yes, of course. Please forgive my rudeness. Do come in." They slipped off their shoes in the entrance hall, where a few child-sized pairs of sneakers already sat, and followed her into the house.
"Nice place you've got here," Kuwabara said. He stepped over a toy robot in the hall, only for his foot to land on a Lego house. "Aw, man! I broke the house! It's all in pieces!"
Yusuke turned back and shook his head. "Why didn't you look where you were going, dummy?"
"Who you calling a dummy, Urameshi? I didn't mean to break it!" He put up his fists.
"Why don't we save that for the intruders?" said Kurama, holding out his hands as he stepped between the two. "In the meantime I'm sure Mrs. Takagi would like an explanation about the job we're here to do."
Yusuke and Kuwabara slowly turned their heads to the woman at the end of the hall. She looked back at them uncertainly. Slightly shorter than Mrs. Takagi and standing at her elbow, Botan had raised her eyebrows expectantly. She tapped her foot.
Kuwabara's fists went down, and Yusuke's right hand went behind his neck, and both of them cast their eyes away from the women. "Sorry." "Yeah, sorry."
"Boys," Botan huffed to Mrs. Takagi, who nodded and continued into the living room. Botan looked pointedly from Yusuke (who rolled his eyes) to Kuwabara (who reddened) and then for no reason she could name to Kurama (who raised an eyebrow). Sighing at herself, she turned and went into the room.
"What's got her all worked up?" Yusuke whispered behind her.
"I wouldn't know," said Kurama.
"Huh?" said Kuwabara. "Hey! It was only made of Lego building blocks! No problem after all."
Botan only hoped the real house would be in better shape when this was over.
Blissfully unaware of Botan's concerns, Mrs. Takagi offered the spirit detectives and Botan something to drink. They all asked for sodas, and when they'd sat down in the living room, aluminum cans in hand, Botan cleared her throat.
"Mrs. Takagi, I'd like to introduce Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara and—er," she cut off, not sure which name Kurama preferred in this situation.
"Shuuichi Minamino," he said smoothly.
"You are… students?" Mrs. Takagi asked. She looked at their uniforms, clearly unsure what to make of the group.
"More of a part-time gig at this point," Yusuke said, not unhappily.
"Normally, we would be in school, yes," said Kurama. He glanced at Yusuke, as if thinking better of that statement, then apparently decided to let it go. "But today we heard about your problem and decided to help." Botan ground her teeth. Explaining was her job!
"I don't understand. How could you have heard about what's happening when we haven't told anybody at all? Did the children mention it at school?"
"No ma'am," Botan said quickly, before Kurama could open his mouth. She held out a business card. "I'm a representative of the Ace-in-the-Hole Detective Agency, based in Nagoya."
Mrs. Takagi took the card and read it, repeating, "Oh, from Nagoya…."
Botan smiled at the boys, who gaped back. "I've been on the trail after these intruders of yours for the past month, and when that trail led here, I immediately contacted the company's finest Tokyo detectives."
"So you're detectives?" the lady asked.
"Yes, we're detectives," Kurama said without missing a beat.
"Company's finest detectives," said Yusuke, sweating only a little and bringing his hand again to the small of his back.
"Uh… yeah," said Kuwabara, looking at Botan. She smiled and nodded encouragingly. "Yeah! Yeah, that's right. We're detectives."
"Now that that's cleared up, maybe you can tell us the details about your intruders," Botan said.
Seeming grateful for the chance, Mrs. Takagi did so.
"It was a Friday evening. Two weeks ago last Friday. We were sitting down to supper, my family and I. That's Mr. Takagi and the two children. It was like a normal night." She rubbed the wrinkled skin beneath her eyes with her fingers, apparently a nervous gesture. "At first we thought the neighbors were having a loud party. Or maybe there was a radio down the street. But my husband said he swore it was coming from upstairs. The music, I mean. It was old-fashioned. A drum, a shakuhachi and a koto. I love the old music, but this was not what I'd ever heard before. It was raucous and wild. Clamorous. And there were voices singing ribald songs. Out of tune as well." She wrinkled her nose, apparently as offended with the quality of the singing as with the raunchy words of the songs. "I believe they were drunk. It soon became clear they were upstairs…. The ceiling began to shake. They were dancing. I wanted to call the police, but my husband…. He's quite a man. He put down his napkin on the table and marched upstairs. We didn't know who was there, but he wasn't going to tolerate this sort of rudeness."
She paused, out of breath, though she'd spoken quite calmly. Botan and the boys waited patiently, sipping on their sodas.
"Well, he came down a minute later. The music had stopped while he yelled at them through the door of the bedroom. I didn't hear what was said. It was all muffled. Are you boys sure you're not hungry?"
"No, ma'am," said Kurama.
"No thanks," said Yusuke.
Kuwabara blinked and said, "What have you got?"
Botan sighed. This is what you get when your coworkers are fifteen years old.
However, Mrs. Takagi appeared delighted. She said she had fresh-baked cookies and would go prepare a tray for them all. They watched her leave for the kitchen.
"That woman's pretty scared," Yusuke said.
"It's no wonder," Botan and Kurama said at the exact same time. They looked at each other oddly, then Kurama indicated for Botan to continue.
"Yes, well, imagine what it must be like living under these conditions every single night. I'm impressed she's kept the house together."
They were silent. Botan imagined each boy was thinking of how his own parents would react in the same situation. Kurama wouldn't give his mother time to react; he'd move her from the house right off, then deal with it himself. Kuwabara's parents seemed more of an absence than a presence; Botan really didn't know what they would do. But it was certain Kuwabara would also handle it for them. And Botan had to suppress an embarrassed chuckle at the very disrespectful image she had of Yusuke's mother inviting herself into the upstairs room to join in on the party.
Her mirth passed quickly. It wasn't that funny, and Yusuke would think less of her for conjuring the image. Botan looked at him where he sat on the Takagis' couch, staring into space with a closed-off expression. Kuwabara looked less comfortable on the other end of the worn couch. He had started to lean back and raise his feet to the coffee table, but jerked back into a slumped posture on the edge of his seat, knees pressed awkwardly together. Botan gathered he wasn't used to being a guest in a home. She suddenly felt a pang for these two boys, who had been responsible for themselves longer than their parents had—and were many times more capable of protecting themselves and others than their parents ever would be.
Kurama was another matter. She glanced at him. He sat with his legs crossed on a leather chair, the smooth, maroon-colored fabric of his uniform creating elegant lines that ran across his chest and down his legs. He looked centered and composed, not quite bored. She wondered what it was like for him, to be an adult in a child's body. Perhaps it was a situation Yusuke and Kuwabara might understand, she thought.
She caught Yusuke catching Kuwabara's eye, then flicking his gaze to indicate the television, which was off. Botan looked over there too, saw the Playstation, and looked back to see the two boys grinning at each other.
She sighed. On second thought, maybe Kurama was alone in his maturity.
"I'm sorry to be so long," Mrs. Takagi said as she walked into the room. She set down a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a tray with four glasses of milk on the center coffee table. "Would you like anything more?"
They all reached politely for the milk, Kuwabara going for two cookies, and said no thank you, and Mrs. Takagi finally sat back down. "Where was I, then?"
"Your husband had come back from the confrontation upstairs," Kurama said.
"Yes, yes. I remember. He was quite put out. He couldn't repeat exactly what they had said to him in front of the children, but he did say that they would be up there for the rest of the night. The music started up again, and the dancing and singing, and it went on until daybreak. We all slept downstairs that night."
"Had he opened the door to the room?" Botan asked.
"Oh, no. It was locked, which is strange, because there is no lock on that door."
Botan nodded.
"We opened it the next morning, though, and the room was in a shambles! Everywhere, spilled sake, and the remains of a big dinner, and trash, and everything messed up. It took me several hours to clean it. I even had to rent a carpet shampooer to get the stains and sake from the floor." She ran a hand through her hair.
"But they came back."
"Yes. That night. We slept with the children in their rooms downstairs again. We could hardly sleep past the sounds of their party, and two neighbors called to complain. I'm afraid we've become unpopular on the block now…." She bowed her head. Judging from the neatness of the rest of the house, inside and out, Mrs. Takagi took such things personally. She must have felt as if she'd failed somehow.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Takagi," Botan said. "They'll forget as soon as we take care of this for you."
She smiled weakly and rubbed below her eyes again. "I'll just be glad to have them gone, Miss Botan. Thank you."
"We'll do everything we can, don't you worry. So, they've been here every night for two weeks?"
"Yes."
"Then we'll stake out the place tonight, down here. When they come into the room again, we'll deal with them. Right boys?"
"Hell yeah," Yusuke agreed. Kuwabara made noises of concurrence around the cookies he was chewing, and Kurama simply nodded.
Kurama couldn't help being amused at the way Botan had taken charge of this mission. Usually, Yusuke led the team wherever it had to go, and he did it with characteristic bravado and sass. Botan always stood right behind him, offering timely information and assistance. Though she stayed out of the limelight, she was always so chipper about it. If Kurama had let himself, he would have found her attitude charming. But then, he hadn't let himself feel much of anything for Botan since their date.
As far as he was concerned, she was just a teammate. His least favorite teammate, if he were the type to categorize people that way. Which he wasn't. After all, that would be petty, and Kurama was not petty.
So, seeing as Yusuke had taken a more relaxed role for this mission, leaving Botan to fill the leadership vacuum, Kurama decided to pick up the slack.
"Mrs. Takagi," he said politely, "I believe it would be useful to familiarize ourselves with the layout of your home." She nodded mutely. "May we start with the room in question?"
As they tromped up the stairs that led from a corner of the living room, Kurama glanced at Botan. She caught his eye and raised one eyebrow at him as he had in the entranceway. Grinning as mockingly as he could, Kurama turned away again. In moments, the four stood in front of a plain wooden door, painted white like the rest of the hall.
"I'm afraid I haven't cleaned it in a few days," Mrs. Takagi was saying, not meeting anyone's eyes. "My husband thinks if I let the mess build up, they will want to leave."
Botan reached for the door, but Kurama turned the handle first. The door swung open noiselessly.
The smell of old liquor reached them first, wafting into the hall slowly in the still air. Close on it was an undercurrent of foulness. Kurama wrinkled his nose disdainfully, and behind him, Kuwabara made a gagging sound. Next to Kurama, Botan sighed. She looked up at him, obviously expecting him to lead the way, but Kurama bowed stiffly. "Ladies first," he said.
"Yeah, right," Yusuke said, pushing between them and striding into the room. He kicked aside a few empty bottles and couldn't help but step on a thin carpet of food cartons and cellophane wrappers. Softly, he swore. "Feels just like home," he said under his breath. Kurama, Kuwabara and Botan trailed after him, and they looked around.
Judging by the pink bed frame and bright stenciling on the walls, the room had belonged to a child before the intruders came. Kurama looked closely at the stylized pictures painted on the walls in irregular patterns. Zoo animals mostly. He used his shirt sleeve to wipe away a food stain that covered the three tails of a red fox. The image emphasized the fox's large, almond-shaped eyes, and the body was almost completely encircled by the thick, tapered tails. A magical animal, strangely out of place amid the more mundane depictions of elephants, lions and tigers. It was probably the eyes, he realized. None of the other animals were drawn with such startling, wide-open eyes.
Feeling real eyes on him, he turned to the doorway and saw Mrs. Takagi gazing at him and the stencil. Her mouth was a thin line, but her eyes were sad.
"Does this room normally belong to one of your children, Mrs. Takagi?"
She nodded. "It used to. My daughter."
"Don't worry," Kurama said, hoping for no reason he could name to drive the despair from her face. "We'll clear the room so she can play and sleep in it once more."
She shook her head. "Kohana died three years ago. But I will be glad to have the room back."
In the silence that followed, Botan cleared her throat. "Let's get an idea of the rest of the layout. Maybe the backyard too? I don't think there are any clues here."
They quietly filed out of the room behind her, Kurama last of all.
Mrs. Takagi's grief stayed with Kurama well into the day. The morning was hardly over before the tour of the house and yard was finished, and the noonday sun shone with full force as the group took a walk around the neighborhood, in case their quarry escaped the house tonight. Kurama noted the landmarks and all the places he himself might use to hide or cover a trail in the dark. But it was automatic. He walked along with Yusuke, Kuwabara and Botan, quietly.
He could imagine the pain of losing a child. He really could, and he pitied the Takagi family. He had almost lost his mother some months ago, and that was bad enough. If not for the sacred mirror he and his partners had stolen from Spirit World, he would have lost his human mother, to whom he owed so much. So he understood, he told himself. What a tragedy.
Still, as the walk progressed, his thoughts could not. His memory of that filthy room, with the pink bed frame and the magical fox stencils, pulled at him. "Kohana died three years ago. But I will be glad to have the room back." Her words had created a stillness in his mind, one he uncomfortably associated with terror.
Had he planned for a life without his mother, back when she was sick? He didn't think so. He hadn't contemplated what it would be like to bury her, to perform the rituals associated with death. Would he have kept the house? And if so, would he have removed her things, cleaned out her bedroom and closets? Would he have repainted the walls, sold off her furnishings and keepsakes? He would have had to, right? How could he live surrounded by a person who was dead? A person he needed more than his own life.
Exhaling a trembling breath, he reminded himself that was not to be. He had saved Shiori, his mother, just as he had saved himself sixteen years ago, through cleverness and guile.
Still, the little girl's room nagged at him. What would he have done in the event of the unthinkable?
They turned a corner, heading back toward the Takagi house. Peripherally, he noticed the group's uncomfortable silence and Yusuke glaring at him, but he thought perhaps that was because of his faux pas back in the house. During her briefing last night had Botan mentioned to them that the Takagis had lost a child? He didn't remember, and he wasn't inclined to bring up the subject now. He lengthened his gait and stuck his hands in his pockets.
Finally they reached the house, with its broken window. In the noon light, without a shadow, the house looked stark and lonely. Kurama sighed. Yusuke came up and stopped him from opening the door. "I wanna talk to you." They walked across the lawn while Botan and Kuwabara knocked and entered the house.
Yusuke and Kurama turned the corner of the garage, just before the gated entrance to the backyard—and suddenly, Yusuke shoved Kurama against the rough outer wall.
Kurama bounced away from it and landed in a fighting stance. "What is this, Yusuke?"
Kurama would have counterattacked almost anyone else, right away, but he tended to give Yusuke a little slack. Yusuke probably had a good reason for this. And if it wasn't good enough, the clematis climbing the side of the house would teach him a good lesson about screwing with someone who could psychically control plants.
"Come on," Kurama said. "Something bothering you, Yusuke?" He narrowed his eyes at the scowling face across from him.
"That would be you," Yusuke growled. "I wanna know what's going on with you and Botan!"
"What are you talking about?"
Yusuke stepped forward with his fists raised. "I'm talking about the attitude you've been copping, and I'm talking about the way you just ignored what she was asking you just now. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Annoyed, Kurama narrowed his eyes. Unconsciously he had assumed a fisted fighting stance as well. "I don't know what you're talking about, Yusuke. I didn't hear her say anything, and I have certainly not treated her any differently than I have anyone else."
"Yeah right! She asked you which way you would go if you tried to escape the house in the dark, and you just kept right on walking. There's no way you couldn't have heard her."
Kurama relaxed a bit. "Yusuke, I was lost in thought," he said calmly. "I didn't hear her." And even if I did, he thought, no matter.
Yusuke didn't relax. "You two have been throwing funny looks at each other since we got back from the tournament." Kurama couldn't deny it, and he certainly wasn't about to add that they'd been throwing glares at each other since before the tournament. In the face of his silence, Yusuke continued in a low voice. "It's none of my business. But I want it to stop."
"Oh?" Now standing completely at ease, he cocked one eyebrow.
"Oh?" Yusuke mimicked in a disgusted voice. "Yeah, Kurama. This ain't the time or place for a lovers' spat—shut up!—whatever the hell's going on between you and Botan. We don't need the distraction."
Kurama's cool evaporated. "Since when have you cared about distractions? This team has been full of them since the start!"
"Since I became team leader—since we lost Genkai." His gaze burned into Kurama, fierce and earnest. Behind the anger and frustration, Kurama saw something. Was it fear? Kurama said the first thing that came to mind.
"We got her back."
"What if we hadn't?" Violently shaking his head, Yusuke strode away. He said over his shoulder, "We gotta watch out for each other, Kurama. I don't care if you don't like Botan, but you still treat her like your friend, you got that?"
The hours slowly passed. Now Kurama had another heavy statement to mull, this one reverberating in Yusuke's stricken tone. "What if we hadn't?"
What if we hadn't? It sounded awfully similar to the words Mrs. Takagi had spoken, making the grieving mother's statement sound like the answer to a question. It was an answer Kurama did not want to contemplate, and yet, he could do nothing but.
He reconnoitered outside after Yusuke went into the house, and worked off some of the angry energy left over from their "talk." Yusuke was right, he realized. They were a team, and he shouldn't bring his dislike for Botan into the mix. They already had enough trouble with Kuwabara and Hiei, no matter how amusing that situation was. His problem with Botan was different, of course. More serious. But if she were willing to bury their conflict, then he would reciprocate. And he realized now that she might have been trying to do that all along.
Things with the ferry girl had certainly changed since their date. He could think of few times in his life when he'd so badly misjudged a person. His first encounters with Yusuke came to mind; he had considered the boy a "good guy," someone he could trust to do the right thing. Then Yusuke had tried to sacrifice his own life for Kurama and his mother—and Kurama found himself in awe of Yusuke's capacity for kindness. That Kurama had underestimated him did not seem strange. That he had done the same with Botan embarrassed the hell out of him.
Usually, Kurama embarrassed others. He stole things, and he revealed people's weaknesses, and he defeated enemies in combat. Sometimes he openly mocked those who deserved it.
"I don't care if you don't like Botan," Yusuke had said, "but you still treat her like your friend, you got that?"
"The same way she treated me?" he growled. Friends didn't deceive each other. They didn't steal from each other. They didn't make a scene in restaurants for the purpose of humiliating each other, and they didn't get Shiori involved.
Yeah, he liked getting belittled in front of his mother.
He shook his head and strode down the sidewalk. It would be nice if Hiei were around. The little fire demon had a way of making him laugh, and he'd rather be amused than angry.
But he wasn't really angry, was he? Not like he had been. Although they barely talked after the date, they couldn't help but spend time together. Botan had proved herself an asset to the team in dozens of ways since then… not that that had ever been in doubt… and winning the Dark Tournament had cemented the team as a group, creating an esprit de corps among them such as he'd rarely seen and certainly never experienced. The team was a whole, and Botan a part of that.
And, he had to admit how difficult it was to feel enraged at the girl he'd rescued from that hotel room.
She was like two different people. The annoyingly attractive and sweet young woman who had matched him tit for tat, glare for glare up until that night on the demon island. And then the terrified, hurt creature he'd helped escape from that gory room. He could only be angry at one of them, the one who had returned the next day apparently whole, unchanged, as if the attack had not taken place. But by that time, he had not wanted to be angry at all.
"She bowed low to me," he murmured. "She said thank you." In the Spirit World, when he visited that night to be sure she was well. Another ferry girl had led him toward the residential chambers to see her, but Botan had met him halfway, walking respectfully toward him in the wide, high-ceilinged hall, trailed by a few other spirit guides and of all people, George the ogre. It had been still except for the padded tread of everyone's feet on the white marble floor, and that lilting echo he could perceive but never actually hear whenever he set foot in the Spirit World.
Botan had stopped before him, no longer shaking or bleeding or bruised, looking clean and well. Her spirit form practically glowed, though her face was set with stress. He knew it had nothing to do with their bickering. She bent at the waist, soft hair falling past her shoulders, eyes downcast, but when she unlocked her knees and began to go to the floor before him, he shot forward and took her by the elbow.
"No," he had said. "No. One such as you must not."
Her wide eyes met his and he let go of her arm, gently, and backed up a step. She smoothed out the silk sleeve of her kimono and bowed again at the waist. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you, Kurama."
And then the next day, as if nothing had happened. No more glares from her, but no conversation either. He hadn't been sure what to expect and had at first only been happy to see no lingering traces of her ordeal, just the usual upbeat Botan. But they'd never really interacted since that night, and damn, but that bothered him.
Those two Botans. Somehow they had negated each other, leaving no opportunity to get to know her a third time. Or would it be a fourth? Their interactions were so varied, half of them washed in deceit, the rest just plain awkward, and he had no idea where to go from here. So was it any wonder he took it out on her? Frustration could do that, and justifiably so.
But Yusuke had noticed, thought it was screwing up the team. Okay. Kurama would take it under advisement.
Kurama sure was taking a lot of walks today. As she watched him toe on his sneakers from her seat in the living room, Botan wondered what exactly Yusuke had said to make him so frustrated. She would be annoyed with Yusuke for making waves like this during a mission, but something had been off about Kurama all day. Something was on his mind. Maybe it was serious, but for all Botan knew, he could simply be considering an important homework assignment.
After all, she and Kurama didn't know each other that well, and they certainly didn't talk.
The door closed, and the boy was gone. Botan sighed and turned back to watching Yusuke and Kuwabara compete on the television screen. Mortal Kombat was an old game now, but Yusuke called it a classic, and the two had ripped into it as soon as Mrs. Takagi gave them permission. Botan had taken her own turns, but now she was bored again. They had the rest of the afternoon and early evening to kill before the intruders showed up, and Botan was beginning to wish she'd brought a book. Without someone to talk to, she was left with her own thoughts. Almost, she wished Kurama had stayed. She had a feeling talking with him would be fun. It had been on their date. Maybe she shouldn't have stolen his wallet that night. They could have become better friends since then.
I don't see why we can't now, she thought.
Because, really, it was so unlike her to give anyone the cold shoulder. Not that she was to Kurama. He just didn't seem inclined to be friendly, so what was she supposed to do? Talk to him anyway? Annoy him?
No, no, no. Botan wouldn't do that. Maybe before, when she had despised him. But not now, not after….
"Hey, Botan," Yusuke called. He waved a hand at her face. "What're you doing just sitting there staring away? You bored?"
Botan shook herself and swallowed a small gasp, almost surprised to find herself in the Takagi living room. She felt the blood drain from her face. My skin feels chilly, she thought in wonder. Her human body had been cold before, but never from the inside out. What is this?
"Botan? Hey, Botan!"
"Hm? What is it, Yusuke?" It took some effort, but she managed to sound normal to her ears… even if she felt her attention divided between the boys and the strange, terrifying sensations taking hold of her body.
Yusuke and Kuwabara were looking at her in concern. They couldn't know what was wrong with her, could they? How could they when she herself wasn't even sure?
"You just look a little weird," Yusuke murmured, unusually perceptive. "Need some water or something?"
"You know, that sounds like an excellent idea! No, no, don't get up. I'll go visit Mrs. Takagi in the kitchen. I'll be back in a few minutes!" With a bright smile, Botan left the room.
And none too soon. Her head felt light and dizzy, like she had too much air. She ducked into the bathroom and closed the door. What was this? Her body, was it sick? Did she have a disease? Quietly, she folded herself into a kneeling position and focused on her breath. Hard to tell if it was too fast or too slow.
After a time, she began to feel normal again. "Maybe I should go to a doctor?" she wondered as she leaned over the sink to rinse her face. "No…. That's silly. I just have to adjust to this body some more. Lord Koenma warned me when I got it that it would take getting used to." Just didn't say it would be so scary at times.
In the kitchen, Mrs. Takagi was slicing vegetables for another snack tray. She looked up when Botan entered and smiled. "I am feeling safer than I have in a long time," she said, that pinched look about her eyes easing a bit.
Botan inclined her head. "We'll do our best to help you keep that feeling, Mrs. Takagi."
The woman smiled again, softly this time, and held out a plate of miniature rice balls. Botan was still munching absently and speaking with Mrs. Takagi when Kurama entered the kitchen.
Botan had been lulled by the friendly conversation, led away from her troubling thoughts, and so she greeted Kurama as if she hadn't been worrying over him for some time.
"Hello Shuuichi! You're back."
Maybe he thought of a sarcastic response, because his mouth quirked into a riveting half-smile. But he only said, "Yes, I was scouting the neighborhood a bit more. How have things been here?"
"Oh, very quiet," Botan said. "Mrs. Takagi has arranged for the children to stay with her aunt tonight, so we don't have to worry about them as bystanders."
Kurama looked pleased. "Very good," he said. "That will help us focus on what we're doing."
"And what exactly will that be?" Mrs. Takagi asked. "I mean, how will you be going about it?"
"We plan to surround and arrest the intruders when they enter the room tonight," Kurama said. "Then we'll take them into our custody so they can't bother you and your family anymore."
"You make it sound so easy," the older woman said. "I hope it is so. Oh, dear. Time to pick up the children from school. I'll need to go now, but I'll be back in an hour or so. Will you all be okay here till then?"
They said they would, and Mrs. Takagi picked up her purse and a snack tray to drop off for Yusuke and Kuwabara, and she left the room. Botan realized she was alone with Kurama. She looked up at him to see his green eyes on her, looking bright and intelligent beneath the bangs of his red hair.
"A kind woman," the boy said.
"Yes," said Botan. She found her fingers fiddling with the hem of her shirt.
"Botan…."
"Yes?"
"I think… somehow I have offended you. I want to apologize."
What was he talking about? Ignoring her earlier? But this was way too formal just for that. Had he offended her? Not since the times he stole her oar. Before she could think, she asked, "Is this about the oars you stole?"
He didn't stop making eye contact, but he remained standing a few feet in front of her.
"This is about everything."
Botan exhaled.
"This isn't so you will apologize to me, Botan. You owe me nothing. It's all gone, in my mind. I just want to make you understand that."
She closed her eyes and bent her head. After a minute she looked up at him and nodded. "Thank you, Kurama."
"Thank you, Botan."
She smiled, and he smiled back, looking almost foolishly happy. He stepped forward with his hand held out, and in that uncontrolled moment, Botan did something she could not understand.
She shrank away. It was like a flinch.
Kurama's hand came down, and he backed away as well. For the first time in the last few minutes, he looked away from her. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
And then he was gone. Botan stood in the kitchen, alone, almost lost in her wonder at this human body Koenma had given her. Its reactions to the world were all so very wrong.
Author's Notes
I am never posting a work-in-progress ever again. It's not fair to you readers, and it's not my ideal creative process. (Probably the main reason it worked for Dickens was that he was actually paid for it.) So, don't worry, I am trying to finish this up as quickly as possible. But it will take time. And I'm sorry about that…. After this, all my stories will be posted whole.
Meanwhile, thank you to the following people. Your reviews have kept me as honest as I can be while writing this: ScarletAmaranth, achirite, Vevina Malfoy, Ryuuie Mizishi, A lilmatchgirl (for both reviews! thanks!), Jess-chan of the Nya Nya Neko, Empressofthedragons, jean, Madam Spooky, B-chan77, Botan-sama, Luci-chan6 (I also have to thank Volpone for reccing the story to you), shiromo, Eun-Jung (Your comments meant a lot to me. To be told one has written something original in the fanfic genre is something indeed. I'm glad you're enjoying it.), Tinacutegurl, PassionateAngel/Steph, Animoon, CWolf2, animegirl007, and Volpone.
Remember when you're reviewing that I can take constructive criticism. As this story moves along, you'll probably see something or other that might be improved. I'm not averse to hearing about that, as long as your terms are polite. And if I agree with you, I'll probably incorporate suggested changes in the final draft once this is all finished.
Best wishes to everyone reading, and I'll try to get the next part out quickly.