Note: Kyaa~! I can't believe it, chapter 7 is up! Well, this is the result of not having something to be busy about. ^^; Oh btw, thanks DW-chan for the fave and wait! Haha.:) Please R&R! And watch out for the 8th chappie…Thank you!:)

Chapter 7: Submissive

After receiving instructions from Koenma, Botan flew her way to Ningenkai to look for Yusuke who had been missing for hours already. She was ordered to bring along Kuwabara in case something happens. Botan dropped off at Kazuma residence.

"Ne, Shizuru. Have you had any call from Yusuke since lunch time?" Botan asked while changing from deity to human form.

"It was around that time when we last contacted him. After that… zero." Shizuru responded while puffing her cigarette. "Hibime is missing, too."

"Yup! Koenma told me. Oh and by the way he was kind of surprised by the fact that Hiei brought a stranger to Ningenkai…Sheez after all this stuff I still need to get Hiei in front of Koenma!" Botan incessantly exclaimed.

"Oh yeah? Well it's Koenma the cynic…So where do you plan to find Yusuke?" Shizuru asked.

"He was scheduled to visit the youkai threshold , so I'm dragging Kuwa with me there." Botan responded.

"Sorry for the wait! What's with that Yusuke?!" Kuwabara grumbled while going downstairs.

Botan made face. "That's why I'm bringing you along! We have to find him! Koenma is getting angry!"

Shizuru sat on a nearby chair, crossed her legs and was in deep musing. " Ne, maybe we're thinking too much."

Kuwabara frowned. "What do you mean about that Sis?"

"When you called him up, he was on patrol, right? Did you think he was up to something? Maybe he decided to look for Hibime when you said she's not here. I don't think he's that busy… and besides, his patrol schedule is only three hours; there wouldn't have been so much to do." Shizuru explained.

"Got a point there!" Botan excitedly said.

"Yeah, he was probably just into some…stuff," was the caramel-haired lass's reply.

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The smell of roses lingered all over the grass-filled land. Leaves were rustling and swaying like a choir following their conductor: the wind. The day seemed like it has just begun. Everything was so light and peaceful. And the goddesses-like women? Ah…they were the best to share these blessings with…

"This must be heaven!"

"You should eat this Yusuke, this will be the best for you." Tidbits of oranges, apples, melons, grapes were held by fair and beautiful women who enticingly appeared before him.

Yusuke was here after all. The goddesses-like women were pampering him to cover-up for some grim stuff they were doing. When Yusuke came their way, they did the only way which could stop Yusuke from hindering their plans. He had been sprinkled over with potion of magic. And so the ever strong Yusuke was ever defenseless of their charms.

Their conversations went on.

"Just as I thought, this would be the best weapon."

"You mean the best weapon against perverts." The red-haired lady said while looking at Yusuke, who was at that time almost drooling for girls.

"Ha-ha, yeah. Pathetic."

"Ne, you know this guy…right?"

"Huh?Ah…No."

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Kurama prepared his things in the bag, readying himself to go out of the university. He was walking toward the gate when he saw a familiar figure waiting for him. He bent his head slightly to look at the figure that shyly hid before the gates, and was surprised to see…

"Keiko-chan?"

Keiko stepped forward so Kurama could see her. She bowed her head.

"Kurama-kun, I'm sorry for interrupting you. I wanted to ask you something." Keiko firmly asked.

He was able to notice the paper that Keiko was holding. Kurama looked at his watch. It's 3:30 p.m. "Are you in a hurry?" He asked.

Keiko suddenly blurted out. "Eh?"

"If it entails me some explanation…then would you mind having snacks at a nearby café?" Kurama asked cheerily, slightly scratching his head with forefinger.

Keiko was a bit surprised. "Ah…No, no. I wouldn't mind at all."

Kurama patted Keiko's shoulder. "Well then. Let's go."

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"Geez, I haven't been in this part of the forest for a long time!" The carrot-headed lad exclaimed.

Botan raised an eyebrow. "Oh is that so?! Then you're not doing your right tour of duty!"

Kuwabara scratched his head. "Well it's because the youkais can easily sense me! They will come to me even though I won't hunt them!"

Botan asked, still raising an eyebrow. "Oi oi, you don't even follow Koenma's rules! Can't you lower your aura for a bit?!"

Kuwabara, not mindful of Botan, looked around and sensed something. He heard some screeching sound.

"What's the matter?" Botan asked.

Kuwabara covered up Botan's mouth. "Ssssshhh..shut up a bit!" He said discreetly. Kuwabara continuously heard the screeching sounds. He looked on the tree on his left. He loosened his grip on Botan. "Feh, it's just squirrels!" There was a bunch of squirrels moving up and down, playing on the branches and trees.

Botan and Kuwabara let out a heavy sigh. But then, the squirrels stopped playing, and seemed to be giggling on something. Kuwabara looked up. Too late, the squirrels had sprinkled him some glittery powder, like a magic that cast a spell on him. At the instant, he walked away as if he was following something; and also left Botan surprised.

"Hey, what's with you Kuwa?!" Botan caught up with him immediately. She held Kuwabara's left shoulder and forced to face her. Botan was very disappointed to see Kuwabara with dreamy eyes.

She slapped him. "What a perv! Kuwabara you look idiotic, really!"

But to no avail. Kuwabara faced again to where he was heading. Botan knew something was going on. The powder that the squirrels spread, how come it did not have any effect on her?

Botan was left with no choice; she needed to follow him.

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"Ne, Kurama-kun, why are they looking at us?" Keiko curiously asked.

Kurama and Keiko went to a nearby café to talk. Kurama ordered a coffee for him and an iced tea for Keiko, and two pieces of cake to make snack time complete.

"Ehe…it's probably the food. Don't mind them." Kurama sweat dropped. He knew they were looking at Keiko. Everybody in the area knew him as the cool red-head heartthrob, and now he brought a girl. They were looking at Keiko as if she committed a grave sin.

"So, what's that thing you wanted to ask?" Kurama asked Keiko, while sipping coffee.

Keiko handed him the paper. "I want to ask you if you knew something about this." Kurama had seen that paper a lot of times. It was Yusuke's patrol schedule. For him, it was no surprise to having read it. He got his own copy, too.

"I thought I should talk to Botan, but I just don't know where she is right now… so I came to you."

Keiko bowed her head a bit, waiting for Kurama's answer.

"You found it. There's no way to deny." Kurama calmly said.

Keiko looked up at Kurama. "Why is he…working for Koenma again?" Keiko asked calmly, and continued. "You know, I don't have anything against Koenma, but it's really a different thing now Kurama…Yusuke can't just leave me…we're living a different life now."

Kurama put his cup on the table. "Keiko-chan, I just thought Yusuke couldn't keep this from you for long. You know the thing about bad youkais, right? They still keep coming on earth. Since we are former spiritual detectives, we know how everything goes. Koenma can't just trust anybody to do the job. He was sure of Yusuke, as well as of others…"

"You're included?" Keiko asked, slightly surprised. She sipped from the iced tea.

"By all means…yes. Kuwabara, too. Though Yusuke is the strongest, it would be difficult for him to do it all by himself. So Koenma assigned us all." Kurama explained. He took a last bite of the cake.

Keiko bit her lip. "I'm sorry Kurama, but I still can't understand why Yusuke can't be an exemption…You're all strong. I just think you can manage without him…"

Kurama smiled. "Yusuke actually did not exempt himself."

Keiko's eyes widened. "What do you mean about that?"

"We were all asked by Koenma through his proposal and we all agreed to do patrol. We were not compelled. Everyone was left with choices."

In Kurama's perspective, Keiko was thinking deeply.

"Do you understand now Keiko-chan? He's doing it for a purpose. And I believe you know why." Kurama said cheerily.

Keiko looked at Kurama.

"I apologize for keeping it from you, too. Yusuke just can't stand to see you suffering because of him."

Keiko was kind of teary-eyed. "That baka…if he explains I will still try to understand…" She sniffed.

Kurama laughed. "Cakes are comfort foods. Try for yourself." He neared the plate of mocha cake to Keiko.

"You bet!" Keiko exclaimed, while enjoying the cake Kurama bought for her.

They were having some conversation when Kurama's cellphone rang.

"Hello?"

"Kurama?Shizuru here."

Kurama excused himself from Keiko and went outside. "Yeah. It's Kurama."

"Sorry for the urgency. Botan was with my bro to look for Yusuke. But there seemed to be a problem now with Kuwabara." Shizuru said on the other line.

Kurama looked at their seats from the outside. Keiko was still eating the cake. "They're looking for Yusuke?"

"Yeah, Botan came rushing to my house and said Yusuke was about to meet them in Reikai but he didn't show up. She dragged Kuwabara along to look for Yusuke, but now there's a problem. Kuwabara was like, he's not himself. She got Kuwa's cellphone and called me up. She said she can't call you at this time because you still have a class, and she's in a hurry anyway. So I risked calling you. They're near the youkai threshold…Are you free?" Shizuru said continuously.

"Surely. Thanks about that." Kurama said, immediately ending the call. He went back to their seats in the café. Keiko was already done with her cake.

Kurama politely excused himself. "I'm sorry Keiko-chan, I have to go now. Will you be alright by yourself?"

Keiko was kind of surprised. "Ah, oh yeah sure. I'm fine. You can go ahead."

"Alright, just call me if something is up." Kurama said, and went away.

Keiko was left in wonder.

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"Baka yaro…why are you here?"

Kuwabara seemed to not hear Yusuke's question. Yusuke was already himself by the time Kuwabara arrived on the scene. He secretly talked to Kuwabara who was on his side, enjoying the 'blessings'. But there's no way he could talk to him. Kuwabara was in to it.

"Sheez. Probably you can't help it." Yusuke shook his head. Before he was sprinkled on by the powder that contains charms, he was pretty sure he was in a strange place because of the energy he felt. So he was prepared for anything that would happen. He did not inhale the powder; he was able to remove all those particles before him. He was riding on the gimmick from the start.

On the other side of the scene, Botan was there in dismay as he watched the two men behind the old tree, thinking they were under the power of those women. "Gaawsh, what am I gonna do to these jerks?!"

Suddenly, she saw a black-haired girl very familiar to her. And it was none other than…

"Hibime. There's someone around here again. Go and dispatch it."

Botan wheezed at the sight of Hibime. "No way."

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