Covered in rain
CHAPTER EIGHT

"I have to finish this as soon as possible George."

The blue oni watched as the God junior, quickly leafed through all the state papers of Rei kai. He mustered all concentration possible, so as to make a quick decision about what he should do with them: shred them or mark them as passed. He was refusing to take the other piles that George had in his arms, for reasons unknown. "Demo, Koenma-sama, these are the forms that you requested the high priests to finish"
He looked at him as if he was making a decision, but the answer turned out to be the same. "Leave them for me to look tomorrow."

George looked at him with exasperation. He had always known Koenma to want to finish all the tasks, so he immediately complied with his boss' order in order to enjoy a hearty meal of doughnuts. It seemed though that Koenma had no interest in those papers and that his efforts have been all for nothing. "What's happening with you Koenma-sama"
He looked at him with a frown. "Nothing"
"NOTHING?" he shrieked. "You've been going to Ningen Kai every so often, you've been distracted and irritable, you're now time conscious (which you never were), and you refuse to do all this papers which was once your Life"
Koenma blinked. "Well, they aren't my main priority now"
The frustrated demon wanted to grab the Demi-god by his collar. "How can you just sit there so cool and calm when I'm wondering where the part of your sensible brain went"
"GEORGE!" the other yelled ungracefully, threatening to throw a paperweight at him. "Would you please not ask me for the details of my personal life!"

The demon blinked then his face split into a slow evil grin. "I knew it." He laughed triumphantly. "It's a girl isn't it"
Koenma was taken aback. "N-no, it isn't a girl." He sputtered.
George poked Koenma's chubby cheeks, which made Koenma's face twitch in annoyance. "Oooh, our dear astral prince is in love. Should tell Daddy I shou---"

After much restraint, Koenma, despite his graceful upbringing, punched George in the face. "You dare do that and I will make you pay for it!" he yelled, trying to strangle him. George laughed weakly, victorious at the lad's indirect admittance. The chaos was to ensue further had Koenma look at the clock and realized that he was late for his dinner date. He quickly got off the demon and sprinted as fast as he could to the door. "Tell Asaka-san that I'd be eating someplace else tonight and leave the office door open for my arrival okay?" he yelled as loud as he could as his voice trailed off. George sighed.

Amused he bent to pick up the fallen papers and carefully arranged them on the table. On the outside of the door he tacked a signage, which said, do not disturb; prince is currently attending to important papers. Then he cheerily walked away, humming a sunny tune.

The kitchen was busy bubbling from all sorts of things: a pot of rice on one of the stoves burners, a tonkatsu crackling away on a pan and stewed vegetables hissing as Botan poured a small shot of melted butter on it.

She was hurrying to piece together the dinner she promised Koenma.

She was never this panicky, at least when she was not under time pressure. But she had wanted to prepare everything so intricately that she wasted a good one-hour attending her kind old lady neighbor who taught her how to make the perfect stewed vegetables. She was unfortunately really slow, and Botan found no heart to tell her that she was.

She heard a knock forth coming from the wooden gate and her heart sank and pounded away somewhere around her navel. "Gomen nasai, Koenma-kun!" She said, running from the kitchens and into the paved walkway. "I haven't finished the dinner and—"

Her eyes were round as surprise took her over. Standing in front of her was Lenma, and he wore a smile that seem oddly twisted to her.

"Good evening, Botan-chan"
She held her head in a dignified posture and asked, "Is your wife with you"
"No she is not," came the reply. "I came alone to see you"
"Well, you already have. Is there anything else"
His smiled broadened. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

She wanted to hurt him physically, emotionally but she restrained herself in doing so. Instead she replied, with an edge of sarcasm, "By means of courtesy, yes, but I do not wish to. I am expecting someone"
"It is Koenma, is it not"
She paled. She looked away.
"Botan"
"Please, I am no longer Botan to you as you are no longer Lenma to Me."

His face contorted to a pained expression, as if he did not expect her to answer that way. He expected her to accept his proposal of rekindling, not their marriage, but their past. Unfortunately, he had himself all too well, because she obviously did not consider him anymore important than just one she had once knew. It stung him that he was pushed far away to be replaced by a man he'd only known once: Koenma.

"I've only wanted to take a moment to talk to you"
She brought herself to her full height, in a dignified non-condescending manner. "I believe we have decided to skip all explanations as everything was clear enough to me, Lenma-san"
She was about to close the door, when a hand held out to her. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this. I can't tell you how much I regretted the decisions I made." Something in her softened at his voice, and at the way he had said those words. "What do you want?" she whispered. He took a step forward. "Let me back in your in your life."

She closed her eyes trying to feel the weight of his words. He wanted her back with him, and has she not wanted this so badly? For him to come back and tell her that he had turned away from everything that was right and perfect in his world. But what would there be left for them? He had a wife and a child, and she couldn't do to Ayumi, what she had gone through. And besides, she had Koenma to change everything for her.

"I'm sorry," she half-whispered. "There's nothing else left for us, but this." she extended her hand to him, a gesture of pure friendship, if not a mere acquaintance-ship over a past better forgotten. His eyes bore steadily into her, as if he wanted her to reconsider. "Arigato gozaimas, for your time Botan-san"

She bowed and closed the door behind him and he turned, down to the road he never once imagined he'd take.