Eh, hey there! I apologize for the short chapter. And I lied, there aren't any Kurama/Botan moments. But there definitely will be some in the next chapter! Enjoy!
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Karasu looked down Botan, who was sleeping uneasily on his bed. He gently reached out a hand to touch her hair. Such soft hair… and so long… and what a pretty shade. Karasu had a thing about hair.
Botan flinched slightly under his touch, and Karasu pulled his hand away regretfully and stepped away from her, sitting down on the floor next too the bed. He began to pack up the first aid kit that was laying next to him.
Botan had insisted on treating her own wounds, and wouldn't let Karasu near her after he had initially set her down on the bed and brought out the first aid kit. Karasu, while being slightly offended, had thought that wasn't such a good idea. After all, one could hardly wrap their own ribs with any real success, but she had insisted on doing it herself. Such a willful thing… Even when wounded, she had grimly bandaged herself up, asked Karasu to wake her up later, and then promptly passed out. Karasu smirked to himself, and looked up Botan's sleeping form. She was so fiery…
The clock in Karasu's living room tolled. Three in the morning already? Oh, yes. Botan had asked him to awaken her at this time. Karasu looked at her uncertainly, unsure if she should really go anywhere if her wounds were serious.
Karasu frowned. He really didn't know how serious her wounds were… He'd never gotten the chance to look at them because Botan had made him leave the room when bandaging her torso. Karasu looked closer at Botan. She seemed to be deeply sleeping now. A perfect chance to get a look at her wounds… And maybe a few other things. Karasu smirked evilly, drawing himself to his knees and facing Botan.
He reached out and slowly, carefully, gently, began to raise Botan's tank top up her slim waist. He had hardly got it past her navel, however, when a resounding slap was heard. The next thing Karasu knew, he had a mouth full of carpet.
Karasu groaned and pushed himself from the floor. He looked up to find Botan glaring menacingly at him.
"Wh- what did you think you were doing you pervert?!" She asked shrilly. Karasu smiled benignly at her.
"Why, Botan chan! I was simply checking your wounds! After all, I doubt you did a very good job, seeing as how you did it all by yourself." Botan was trembling in righteous anger.
"I know how to treat my own wounds, thank you very much!" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You know," Her voice quieted, "You were awfully keen to help me bandage up earlier… Why is that?" Karasu's grin faded, and he gazed steadily at her. His voice became very soft as well.
"Why, Botan, how could you ask me such a thing? Of course it's because I was worried about you! I don't like to see my best little worker injured, and I wanted you patched up as quickly as possible. And I know how to treat wounds as well. A sight better than you, I imagine, since I've been doing this far longer than you've even been alive." Karasu's voice had changed to a gently scolding tone.
Botan frowned. She sat up uneasily. Karasu was right, he was more experienced at treating wounds than she was. She knew she had done a poor job at bandaging her ribs and really could use the help of someone who knew what they were doing… But for some reason she didn't like Karasu to be any nearer to her than he absolutely had to be. And if she allowed him to help her, there would be no escaping close contact… Something she wasn't really comfortable with. Her self-preservation won out.
"Alright… Fine. You can help me." Karasu grinned happily and moved toward her, picking the first aid kit up once more. Botan looked at him suspiciously as he sat down next to her on the bed. He smiled gently at her.
"Lift up your shirt." He said smoothly. Did she detect a slight purr? Botan shivered. No, she was imagining things. She did as Karasu told her, and lifter her shirt until it was just below her breasts. Karasu looked closely at her torso, frowning slightly.
"Hmmm. You didn't bandage this very tight, Botan. Better let me do it." He tugged slightly on one end of the bandage, sending it unraveling. He gathered it up and began to rewrap Botan's ribs tightly, his hands lightly grazing her skin every so often. Botan cringed inwardly at the contact, but didn't outwardly react.
Karasu, on the other hand, was enjoying himself immensely. Here he was, with a rather excellent view of Botan's slim form. The only things he could wished for were that one: her shirt were pulled a little higher up, and two: that unsightly bruise where gone from her side. Other than that, it was very nice indeed. And every time his fingers brushed against her silky skin, shivers of delight made their way down his spine.
Too soon for Karasu (and not soon enough for Botan) , he was done. He tucked the bandage into place, pressing slightly against Botan's bruise. She flinched, and Karasu apologized softly into her ear.
Botan stood up from the bed and moved around experimentally. Other than a little stiff, she felt fine. Or as fine as one could be with bruised ribs and few other injuries. She smiled genuinely and Karasu.
"Wow! I feel great! Thanks!" Karasu smiled back. Botan glanced at her watch and moaned.
"I can't believe it's almost three thirty in the morning!" She looked reproachfully at Karasu.
"I have school tomorrow you know!" She began shaking her finger at him in a scolding manner.
"I can't believe you would give me a job like that on a school night!" Karasu laughed. Botan pouted at him.
"Not to mention that I have to go to school like this tomorrow. I'm going to be walking like a scarecrow. I blame you for this happening. I'm going to be stiff for a week!" She bemoaned.
Karasu's eyes sparkled.
"Don't blame me for your clumsiness. And you don't have to go to school tomorrow. You could just come over here. I'm we could do a few things that would… loosen you up." He grinned wickedly. Botan just stared him.
"I… need to go. Um, where's my bag?" Karasu pointed to the door.
"It's by the door." Botan smiled uncertainly at him, then walked quickly down the hall, picked up her bag, and headed out the door.
Karasu stood by his window and watched her as she walked down the street toward her home.
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Kurama had only needed to wait at Genkai's temple for about ten minutes before Yuusuke, Kuwabara, and Keiko showed up. They were all sitting on floor in Genkai's dojo, forming a small circle. Yuusuke didn't waste any time.
"So, Kurama. What's up?" Kuwabara jumped in right after.
"Yeah, what's the deal with you callin' us all here, huh? Is there a new mission? Why did Koenma tell you about it instead a' Yuusuke?" Hiei and Genkai both glared at him.
"Be quiet you oaf! I'm sure if you would just shut your mouth for more than two seconds, Kurama would be happy to tell us!" Kuwabara and Hiei glared at each other. Kurama cleared his throat.
"The reason I wanted to speak with all of you is because I learned something interesting when I spoke to Koenma today." Kuwabara piped up once more.
"Wha-"
"Silence!" Hei shouted in Kuwabara's ear. Yuusuke chuckled. Kurama continued.
" Earlier today, I noticed Hiei at my school. Naturally, I went over to say hello. Apparently, Koenma had sent Hiei to spy on me." Now it was Yuusuke's turn to ask questions.
"What? But why would he do that?" Kurama shook his head.
"I don't know. I still don't, for sure, but I do have a good idea. You see, I went to ask Koenma about it later. Unfortunately, I… accidentally walked in on him while he was having a meeting. That's how I found out that there is a new thief in Maikai."
Everyone but Hiei looked surprised.
"A new thief?" Keiko asked. "But… Why is that such a big deal? I'm sure there must be tons of thieves in Maikai… Right?"
"Oh, there are plenty of thieves in Maikai, yes. But this one is good, or so I heard. In fact… They're comparing him to me."
Everyone fell silent. They knew about Kurama's past. That he was a great thief. The greatest thief. And Kurama was secretly very fond of his seemingly infallible position.
Yuusuke began to chuckle. So did Kuwabara. Even Hiei cracked a smile, though he got rid of it quickly.
"I assure you that I didn't find it nearly so amusing when I heard about it." Said Kurama bitterly. Yuusuke grinned and slapped him on the back.
"Sorry buddy. We know how you feel about your position being threatened. So what about this thief concerns us?"
Kurama frowned. "Koenma said he might ask me to help him catch this thief. Though I'm sure, had I not caught him talking about it, he would never have told me. And I think the only reason he told me that he may call upon me to help is so that he can keep an eye one me. He realizes that I feel my territory infringed upon."
"So, he's a little more insightful than we give him credit for." Hiei frowned.
"So," said Kurama with a sigh, "it would appear."
The group was silent for a while. Then Genkai spoke up.
"What will you do, Kurama, if Koenma does ask you for help? And, even more importantly, what will you do if he does not?"
Kurama looked moodily at the floor, before slowly answering.
"I will help Koenma if he asks. But I can't just ignore it. It's not so much that I want to catch this new thief… Just meet him. I would like to see if he is worthy of all this fame he seems to have gotten himself after so short an amount of time. So even if Koenma does not ask for my help, I will look for this thief anyway." Genkai gazed steadily at Kurama.
"You do realize that that is precisely why Koenma avoided telling you in the first place." Kurama nodded.
"Yes, I know. But it doesn't change anything. I will still go after this thief, with Keonma's permission or without it."
The group was silent once again. Then Yukina smiled gently at Kurama.
"If this is what you wish to do, then I am sure all of us here will support you. After all, you have helped all of us many times." Kurama smiled back at Yukina, touched by her words.
"Well, duh! Of course we'll support you Kurama! You're our buddy!" Yuusuke said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Man, if you ever need my spirit sword, you just say the word!" Kuwabara grinned and gave Kurama the thumbs up sign.
Hiei "hmph-ed" and Genkai just smiled serenely. Keiko grinned warmly at everyone.
Kurama smiled at them all, truly warmed by their sentiments and declarations.
"Thank you. If I need your help I won't hesitate to ask."
After that the meeting seemed to be over. They sat and talked about trivial things for a while (Like how Kuwabara and Yuusuke were failing Trigonometry.), before everyone decided to go home.
Kurama was exhausted. He felt as though he'd been up for three days, although it was only eleven thirty. He stretched groggily before he slid into his bed. He set his alarm clock before shutting of the light. He had the feeling he was going to be very busy for the next few weeks.
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Botan finally made it to her apartment. She was incredibly tired and felt as though she could sleep for a week if someone would let her. Unfortunately, she had to be up to get ready for school by seven. She moaned. Life was so unfair.
She only managed to kick off her shoes and pants after setting her alarm clock before she slid gingerly into bed. She hoped her bandages didn't come undone overnight, she really didn't want to stop by and have Karasu redo it before school tomorrow. As she slid fitfully to sleep, she remembered something important. She forgot to do her trig homework.
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Alright, chapter six! I hope you liked it. You know… I seem to be getting fewer and fewer reviews for each chapter… Now, don't get me wrong, I don't write for the reviews, but if you guys want to keep me motivated you have to feed me! I need feedback from all the people who read this fic. Anyway, I'm going to keep writing whether I get reviews or not, so don't worry all you people who consistently review! I just want to know what everyone thinks so far. That's all. Oops, I sound like a big whiner, don't I? Heh, sorry about that!
Anyway, thankies to these people who reviewed chapter five:
Yume Ookami: Argh! Get off my shoe! Here's some more!
I won't tell: (really, why not?!) Yeah, Karasu is a creep in this fic. And I must say I am having a ball writing his character. He's starting to remind more and more of Xelloss with each new chapter. I don't even do that intentionally! I think the fact that Botan's a thief is pretty darn cool myself. And I'm glad you aren't craving as much fluff… It may take a while before the waffl-es are served!
Xiao Xing: Tell me about it. I wouldn't want to be in her position right now. ::winces::
PassionateAngel: I know, it's so much fun to see her be naughty. And is Kurama jealous? Is the sky blue? Oh yeah, he's really kind of bitter about the whole thing. But also intrigued… I'm glad that my story is easy to follow, I love it when people compliment my style and not just my plot!
Sarah: ::laughs:: You didn't offend me, really. I was just kidding. Now if you want to call this chapter a snippet, you wouldn't be far off. I didn't have a lot of time to write today though! (excuses, excuses!) And again, thank you for telling me that you like my writing style. It's good to know that you were able to follow it and your mind didn't wander. Those were my goals when writing it, so it's good to know I've accomplished something!
Now don't forget to review you little darlings! I love all of you!