Whoo! Chapter fourteen! I hope you people like it. I'm sorry if it's a little short, but I have the flu and had neither the time nor health to give you a long chapter.
Thank you, Cheap Libertad, my lovely beta reader. I love you!
~*~
Kurama and Hiei walked down the long hall toward Koenma's office, Kurama still shooting grins at Hiei, who was returning Kurama's looks with deep frowns.
"Stop grinning like an idiot, kitsune. It doesn't become you."
Kurama laughed.
"Sorry Hiei. I just think it's sweet that you're going to see Muruko…"
"Hn. Sweet has nothing to do with it. My visit is purely business."
"Sure Hiei."
Hiei shot a particularly menacing glare Kurama's way. Kurama held up his hands in defeat.
"Okay, okay! It's business!"
"And don't you forget it, Kurama." Hiei paused. He stopped walking and turned to face the fox, a thoughtful frown on his face. Kurama glanced down at him.
"There's something different about you, Kurama. You seem more open than usual. You've been teasing me nonstop since we left ningenkai."
Kurama grimaced, and shifted his gaze to his feet.
"Is it really that big a difference? From how I usually act, I mean?" Kurama turned to the side and began to mutter to himself.
"Then… He's affecting my behavior."
Hiei raised an eyebrow.
"Kurama. What are you mumbling about? What's going on?"
Kurama turned to face Hiei.
"Am I really acting differently?"
"Slightly. Enough for me notice, though I doubt anyone else would. What is going on?"
Kurama frowned.
"It's Youko. He's awake. He spoke to me last night."
"… Why are you referring to him in third person? Aren't you one in the same?"
Kurama shook his head.
"No. Not really. I'm Shuichi, the dominant personality. The 'good' one, if you will. Youko is- was the sleeping consciousness."
Hiei looked thoughtful.
"I'm not sure I understand. So, the personality of Youko is dormant? And… He's bad?"
Kurama shrugged.
"He was dormant. Until last night anyway, when he decided to have a conversation through the mirror. And, yeah. He's the 'bad' one. Think of me as Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde, Shuichi being the good doctor and Youko as the evil Mister Hyde."
Hiei stared at him blankly.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. But I think I get the gist. So, what 'woke' Youko up, then?"
Kurama sighed heavily and put a hand to his forehead.
"Well, a few things. The first being this new thief. He wants to meet him, capture him maybe."
Hiei nodded.
"That doesn't surprise me. After all, you were once the greatest thief in the three realms. I can understand you wanting to get a look at this competition. What else?"
"Remember when you came to get me in the ice cream parlor? And I told you that I had been there with a girl who'd just left? Botan? He wants her."
Hiei looked confused.
"Why?"
Kurama shrugged.
"I don't know. There's just something about her that draws him. And me. We want her. She calls to us somehow."
Hiei stared at the ground, a pensive _expression on his face.
"Ah… This woman has the power to wake Youko?" He looked up at Kurama. "Are you going to take her then?"
Kurama frowned.
"It's too soon. I haven't known her long enough to even ask her out on a date. Besides, she so different from the other girls… And she doesn't date, I'd forgotten about that." He looked at Hiei, lost. "I don't know. I'm not sure what I'm going to do."
Hiei thumbed the handle of his blade.
"I wish I could give you some sort of advice, or offer you help in some way. But I know nothing of these matters of the heart."
Kurama smiled gently down at his friend.
"Thank you for listening to me, Hiei. That was help enough."
Hiei shrugged and turned to start walking toward Koenma's office once more, Kurama following him.
"Hn. Whatever, kitsune."
~*~
Botan stealthily made her way toward the manor, dodging guards and protection spells. If this Riku person had anything as valuable as Karasu had told her, he sure wasn't doing a very good job of trying to protect it.
She snuck past a sentry stationed at the main entrance and darted around the manor to the back, where there was a great first floor window she'd seen on the map that would be perfect as her entrance.
She carefully felt the air for any spells that might be over the house. Botan couldn't detect anything, so she gently tapped the glass, feeling how thick it was and trying to decide how heavy it would be when she lifted it.
She manipulated her spirit energy to unlock the window from the inside, and slowly, carefully, quietly, slid the window up and crawled inside. She then turned and closed the window again, taking out her map and crouching behind a chair to take a good look.
The library was on the third floor. If Riku had a rotating sentry (which she doubted, seeing how simple his security had been so far), then they would most likely be stationed on the second floor, where Riku's storeroom was. Unfortunately, the way the house was laid out, she'd have go through the second floor and past the storeroom to get to the stairs that lead to the third floor.
Botan sighed and put a hand to her ribs.
She was going to have to be extra careful this time. She wasn't fully recovered yet, and goodness knows that having any more accidents would probably crack her rib cage.
She moved silently out of the room and toward the first flight of stairs.
~*~
Kurama and Hiei made it to the busy room outside of Koenma's office where the oni's where running wildly around with stacks upon stacks of paper. They paused to watch.
"Kurama, Hiei. It's nice to see you." Ayame's gentle voice pierced the discord of the room. They turned to her. She smiled at them, and bowed.
"I know that Koenma-sama wants to see you, Kurama-kun. Why don't you go on into his office? I'll keep Hiei out of trouble." She smiled and winked. Kurama smiled back, but Hiei sent her a withering glare, at which she just laughed.
"I don't think I'll be long Hiei."
"Hn. Hurry up, Kurama. I want to get to Muruko's sometime today."
Kurama nodded and went to the large doors of Koenma's office, knocking briskly.
"Come in!"
Kurama opened the doors and walked inside. He noticed that Riku was there again; he must have been talking with Koenma about the thief.
"Ah, Kurama, I'm glad to see you. Have a seat!" Koenma turned to Riku.
"Remember Shuichi? Well, he's going to be helping me with this little case."
Riku looked skeptical. "You're giving a human this assignment?"
Kurama grinned wickedly, but hid it behind his hand. Koenma laughed nervously.
"Well, he's a very special human, and er… He knows a lot about this kind of thing."
Riku stood, still looking unconvinced. "All right. I'll be waiting in the lobby then." He walked out the door.
Koenma turned to Kurama.
"Riku brought that list of inventory that you wanted from his brother. He had a team of ten working ten-hour shifts to get so quickly! Anyway, all that's missing is a ring of special properties."
Kurama frowned.
"What kind of special properties?"
Koenma looked down at the paper.
"Eh… It doesn't say. I suppose you could ask Riku. I'm sure he'd know. Anyway, I'm sending you over the Taiyoukai Lord's mansion to look for clues and stuff."
"Look for clues?"
Koenma shrugged.
"Hey, I figured since you were a thief once, you'd know better than anyone else what to look for."
Kurama nodded.
"Okay, so then… That's it?"
"Uh… Yeah. There haven't been any new developments or anything. And no one's reported any new robberies."
Kurama stood from his seat.
"That's all I need to know?"
"That's it, I think. Ayame will take both you and Hiei to Maikai. I understand he wishes to visit Muruko."
Kurama nodded absently and walked out the door.
~*~
Hiei and Kurama walked silently down the path that lead to the Taiyoukai's mansion, following several paces behind Riku.
"Well?"
"What?"
"Well, what did he have to say, baka?!"
Kurama snapped out of his daze and looked at Hiei. He realized that he hadn't spoken since they'd left Reikai with Ayame. But Kurama had been too caught up in his own thoughts to speak with Hiei. He was finally going to learn a little about this new thief… After all, how one breaks into a house tells a lot about their personality.
"He told me to come to Maikai and look for clues in the Taiyoukai's mansion."
"…That's it?"
"Oh, and he said that the only thing that the thief had taken, besides the amulets, was a ring of 'special properties'."
"But he didn't have any new information?"
"No."
Hiei looked sidelong at his friend.
"Did you tell him about Youko?"
Kurama frowned and looked at his shoes.
"No."
"Why not?"
"It wasn't really a good time. I also don't think that it's anyone else's business."
Hiei rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever, Kurama. Here is where I leave you anyway." With that, Hiei darted swiftly off into the dense wood.
"Bye." Kurama muttered.
~*~
Kurama tasted the air around the manor, the bitter flavor of the broken protection spell on his tongue. The 'Artful Dodger' was clever, not many people knew how to detect, let alone break such a subtle spell as this. In his glory days, that had been Kuronue's specialty. Kurama winced guiltily at the memory of his old partner.
The thief must have been quiet as well, able to sneak past the rotating sentry that the Taiyoukai had stationed around the house and grounds.
Kurama frowned to himself as he made his way along the path to Riku's manor, where he had been invited to tea when he was finished with his investigations.
This thief was good, but didn't seem to have a particular pattern. Who knew where he'd strike next?
A noise from ahead caught his attention. Kurama's head snapped up. Someone was climbing out a window on the third floor and shimming down a tree. Someone completely adorned in black. With a bulging sack on their back.
That wasn't – that couldn't be. It was. It was the thief.
Immediately Youko took over completely, squelching Shuichi under his domineering rush of personality. Red hair became silver, bottle green eyes became gold.
Youko smirked.
~*~
Botan hadn't had any trouble at all this night. Everything had gone smoothly. She had been able to get past the second floor without a hitch. There hadn't even been any guards outside of the storeroom to slow her down. She rolled her eyes. Had she been after gold that would have opportune. Unfortunately she was stuck with books, and she'd have enough to carry back with her from the library. Besides, she'd learned her lesson not to go messing with demons' treasure the last time. And she had a stupid, irremovable ring to prove it.
While she had been in the library, she'd felt someone with a good deal of spirit energy enter the house down stairs. It was most likely Riku, back from his 'mission in Reikai'. Botan decided it would be a good idea to keep her spirit energy as suppressed as possible, and to leave through the window on the third floor hallway.
She softly opened the window and stepped out onto a branch, closing the window behind her. She groaned under the weight of the books and began to climb down.
Her feet hit the ground and she stretched, she turned to make her way into the forest, but was stopped by a figure before her.
Tall. Silver hair. Fox ears. Gold eyes watching her intently. A smirk upon his sensual lips.
Botan had heard a lot of stories from Oliver. A lot. He was the greatest thief ever to have existed after all. But Oliver had told her he was dead.
Apparently he was misinformed.
Youko Kurama looked quiet alive to her.
~*~
Youko regarded the thief curiously. Small frame, petite, and from the way they carried themselves… Female. Had to be. He couldn't see her face, but that was about to change. He gently reached out to pull back her hood. The Artful Dodger bolted. Kurama was surprised, but turned to follow, grinning. He hadn't had a chase in too long.
~*~
Botan had no idea how she was able to run so fast when she had this sack of books still clutched tightly in her hand. It must be the adrenaline.
How was this possible? How? It wasn't. It wasn't possible. But she'd seen him! And from the sound of it, he was following her, though he was lagging behind now, after ten minutes of sprinting, he was bound to tire somewhat.
Besides, she doubted he had the pure adrenaline rush that she was experiencing. Finally she saw it. Raven Tower. It was close. She ran inside and turned swiftly around. He wasn't as far behind as she thought, she could see him coming, another minute and he would be upon her. Using as much spirit energy to help her as possible, she slammed the door closed and bolted it. Not a moment too soon, either, she could hear him at it, trying to pry it open. She ran up the thirteen flights of stairs and burst into the room. Karasu had opened the portal only moments before and she rushed through it. The last thing she remembered was passing out in Karasu's lap.
~*~
Ah, we didn't make the thirty. Oh well! There's always next time! Until then, I hope you enjoyed the new chapter! I rather liked how Youko 'squelched' Shuichi, myself. I think Shuichi needs to be 'squelched' every now and again.
As usual, thanks to the following people who reviewed the last chapter:
Cheap Libertad: Nicole… What doesn't affect your brain?! Ah yes, Kurama's inner dialogue… I love it. Oh, I finally get my art tomorrow! Yay!
Shiroi Hikari: Thank you!
PassionateAngel: Poor dear! ::hands you a blanket:: It's cold down where I live to. Though, we don't get any snow. Just freezing rain and wind. Yay! Botan thieving action! And the ring… Ah, yes the ring… ::Gives you a mysterious look::
Frith: ::looks around frantically:: Where's the next chapter? WHERE? Ah! Frith, you are killing me. I need closure! Heh, I loved that dialogue with Kurama in your review! ::Grins:: Well, looks like Kurama didn't get to find out who Botan was… But soon! Yes, soon! As for the lemon, you'll have to take that up with Raven Sin, as she will be the writer. I want my crispy chapter, woman!
Whitedragoness: Okay, here's an update!
Yume Ookami: Oh dear… You're mad at me aren't you? Remember that I have a strict updating schedule that I must follow! I'll get to WTT this week, I SWEAR! Ahem… Now then. Oh, she got found out… Sort of… Oh, there will be more Karasu, lots more Karasu… Hee hee…
Amber Myst: Don't sweat the reviews chick, my fic didn't start getting more than eight reviews a chapter until just a few chapters ago! No, I'm not going to bribe you people for reviews, I'm better than that. I have an updating schedule that I follow, and even if I get no reviews, I'll keep updating.
allin656: Don't worry, they'll get to hang out at his house eventually!
Botan-Rocks721: Thank you! Er… I don't have time to write long chapters! Not if you want them out as quickly as I get them out. And don't be upset because your name was at the bottom. You must have been one of the last ones to review. I respond in order to who reviewed first to who reviewed last.
JD Fielding: ::blushes:: Aw, thanks! Let me see… Well, obviously, they didn't really find out about each other, all Botan knows is that Youko Kurama is not dead and all Kurama knows is that the thief is female… But it's all adding up! And as for Kurama kissing Botan… I was very tempted to just have him do so…
AzureDragoness: Hope you weren't hovering too long! Here's your update!
Lisa: ::sweatdrop:: Whoo, thanks for pointing that out! I went back and changed it after that, as well as some other small errors I noticed. What does that beta reader of mine do? Not her job, obviously!
Junyortrakr: Well, I don't like to talk business when answering my reviews, but I was chatting with Karasu and he told me that he gives Botan thirty five percent of the estimated value of whatever she's stealing, in advance. Not to mention, that he gives her more when the item sells higher than he expected. Karasu's not a bad boss to work for, he does most of the research for Botan as well, and he's quiet knowledgeable in the artifact and treasure genre. I wouldn't mind working for him!
NoneOfYourBWax: Okay, your last review really confused me! But now I understand. Well, don't worry, there will be some mushy moments coming up!
Xiao Xing: Yes! Unfortunately, he still doesn't know who it is…
KitsuneGirl: Hmmm. I have no idea… Maybe twenty chapters… Maybe more!
Suzie san: Wow! I actually have someone who isn't really into the Kurama/Botan genre hooked on my fic! ::feels proud::
mai-v: Thanks!
The New Girl: Hmm, no the ring isn't a tracker! You'll find out! ^__^
Sarah: Aw, don't hate Karasu! He can't help it that he's the bad guy! Besides, he's only an obnoxious prick because I write him that way! Er… Actually, he was like that in the series too. I'm not sure how Kurama's going to react when he finally notices the ring.
inuyashafan98: Thank you. Though, you shouldn't diss the Hiei/Kurama fics, it's not polite… I'm not fond of them myself, but don't tell anyone!
Tiineji Rin: Hmmm, don't be scared to post your stuff! But you should get a beta reader, because they rock. And they'll make sure you didn't leave any words out and what have you. Ummm, Kurama will find out that Botan is the thief very soon.
DeityofRoses: What?! No Word??!! Now I'm NEVER going to get the next chapter to Damnable Angel, am I? Do you have notepad? I hope you get Word back soon, or I'm going to hurt someone! Anyway, thank you for the ego boost, dear. And let me tell you, engagement ring? Hmmmmmmm…. ^___^
FluffyLuver4Eva: o.O Well, she found out about Youko… Does that count?
Kari no Miko: Yeah, that meanie, Karasu! Darn him! Don't worry, though, things are bound to get interesting from here on out!
Lady Nightshade: Thank you. I read your fic, but it wouldn't let me review! Youko's a sexy beast though. A sexy beast. Is Botan going to let him court her? Something tells me… Yes!
SweetKaori: Alright! Alright! I'll email you when I update! Now calm down, you're scaring the other children…