Botan looked curiously at the fabrics that lay before her. She's never known any other kimono other than her plain, pink one that serves as a sort-of uniform as an escort of departed souls. This, rather, abrupt introduction to the ningen's version of the traditional clothing was simply breath-taking for the deity. Everywhere she looked, the fabrics seem to oust each other as if competing for her attention, glimmering as the late morning sun hit them.

The seamstress looked on, slightly bemused and a great deal proud at the effect her fabrics seem to take on her blue-haired visitor. "I take this is the first time she's going to wear a kimono, ne?" she asked Keiko. "Uh... yeah, I guess," she lied. The woman nodded in understanding, "it is good to see young people opting the traditional clothing rather than the Western influenced white number that's so popular these days," she gave out a huff of indignance, "whoever said that wearing deathly pale colors on one's wedding looks pretty should be wrapped in a kimono like sushi." Keiko just stifled a laugh in feigned agreement over the elder woman's sentiments.

The seamstress walked to where Botan was seated, "having a hard time?" she asked kindly. Botan smiled up to the nice woman, "I'm just... I mean, they all look so pretty! I'm not sure I'd be doing justice to..." the seamstress lay a gentle hand on her shoulders. "Let me give you a hand," slowly, she sifted through the layers upon layers of satin sprawled all over the table.

Botan threw a grateful glance at Keiko. At least she's having fun. Something to throw her life back into a semblance of normalcy, Keiko thought, seeing the familiar gleeful look in her purple gaze. She thought it was odd when Botan insisted that they go to the dress shop by themselves. Keiko thought it would be a better idea if they had Kurama to go along with them, but when she saw the wary glint in her eyes, she agreed to Botan's terms and snuck her out of the house while Kurama was busily preparing lunch.

"Ah, this is just perfect for you," the seamstress exclaimed as she pulled out a lilac cloth printed with designs of white cherry blossoms and snowflakes on its edges. Botan stared at the magnificent fabric in wide-eye, "I'm going to wear that?" she whispered in awe. "Well, I have to sew it first," the woman responded with a chuckle, "but yes. I think it looks good on you. Brings out the color of her eyes, don't you think Keiko-san?" Keiko nodded in approval, a smile of encouragement in her face. Botan got up in awe as the woman started to take her measurements. "Oh, by the way Keiko-san... where's that friend of yours? The tall woman?"

"Shizuru? She couldn't come right now. She..." she almost said that Shizuru was tending to the greatly wounded Kuwabara when she saw Botan out of the corner of her eye, peering curiously at the window as though having seen something. "uh,... she has to go to work." Keiko kept a wary eye at Botan who slowly got up from where she sat and started to walk to the door. "ano... I need to confirm some things about her preferences in the cut of the kimono. Perhaps, you could give me her number?" she asked. "Sure," she answered absently letting the elder woman lead her out at the back of the store, "Botan, where you going?" she called out but the deity seemed to have not heard her."Oh, and before I forget, I need to have your kimono fitted for some final adjustments," the seamstress said, leading Keiko to the fitting room. "Demo..." she said, craning her neck giving a final check on Botan.

Botan looked at the direction she thought she saw someone she knew went. Someone bearing a striking resemblance to Minori. Botan felt slightly disappointed to have seen it was just mental blur in her part. She turned to get back inside and found herself bumping into a solid wall. "Gomen-nasai..." she muttered. "How have you been, kawaii?" the solid wall asked. She looked up and saw the familiar glint of amusement in those ice blue eyes. Botan took a step back, blushing ever slightly at his term of endearment for her, "K-ka..." he placed a finger on her lips that made her blush even more. He smiled, "So what are you doing here? Getting married? I hope not," he said.

"Ah, iie," Botan replied rather uncomfortably, not used to such flattery and attention, "m-my friend, Keiko is the one getting married. I'm... just the maid of honor," she finished. Whew! I thought I'd never make it to the end of the sentence. He smiled and bent to whisper on her ear, his warm breath caressing her vulnerability, "I'm glad." Botan managed a wavering smile, "W-wha... you? what about you? What brings you here?" she stammered. His eyes never left hers, "I live in Ningenkai now, last I checked. But you," he tucked a stray strand back behind her ear. "Am I hoping too much if I presume you take the path I chose since that night at the park?" he asked silkily.

Botan was drawn to his gaze, even as she felt the blood creep further up her cheeks, remembering the kiss they shared. She knew she should feel a certain degree of guilt over having conducted a secret rendezvous with a former adversary... but for some strange reason, she didn't. She even regards the past event as something that's mind-freeing... a welcome distraction from all her problems... her past... her pursuers... Kurama... "Uh, no. Um... I'm sort of in hiding from some youkais looking for me in Reikai..." she said and before she knew it, words stumbled involuntarily out from her mouth. Telling this nearly stranger everything that she refused to discuss with any of her friends. That's alright, she reassured herself, he can be trusted. He listened quietly, his face expressionless except from the occasional quirk in his lips.

"... then I have to stay in Kurama's house for the mean time..." she was saying when he cut her off for the first time, "it seems there's been a lot of things bothering you lately, kawaii," he assessed. Botan looked at him rather strangely, her eyes are either deceiving her or Minori seem a meter away from her. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy, her limbs too tired to even move. "I... I have the strangest feeling..." Botan tried to walk back to the dress shop and ask Keiko to go home. "What do you think of dinner?" Minori asked, oblivious of the clouded shade her eyes had turned into. It might not be such a good idea to have gone out so soon, she thought. She tried to shake her head, as Minori grasped her by the elbow. Botan felt her knees grow watery and she collapsed in his arms, she smiled ruefully, "Could you please get Keiko-chan to..." she didn't get to complete her sentence. The world was sucked in a bottomless, dark void.

The elderly woman got out of the shop, a strange visage with a kimono-clad Keiko slung on her hunched shoulder. Minori turned and stared at the woman as it stripped off her mask. A deep, bleeding scratch looked misplaced against her perfect skin. She flashed him a smile, "this bitch will pay for her fiancee's rash action." Minori swooped Botan off her feet and carried her in his arms, "we'd best be going," he said.

Hiei thought he'd be the one bringing out the surprise when he got to Kurama's house. He was a bit taken aback by the scene that greeted him. Koenma held Kurama pinned on a wall. The kitsune had his arms crossed, smiling at the pacifier-sucking prince... mocking him. "You bastard! I should have known better than trusting Botan to you," he hissed. Kurama refused to give the prince the pleasure of seeing his anger, "you should have," he remarked calmly. Kurama knew he could end this senseless confrontation if he wanted to, but he was not one to stoop so low and hurt a raging person who's not in his element.

"I'm gonna kill you, I swear! I'll do everything in my power and see personally that you suffer, you son of a bitch!" he raged. Hiei was a bit bemused at the discovery of the Reikai prince's vast vocabulary of ningen cuss words. It sounded to befit a brat like him. "You do that, Koenma. And maybe by that way, you can bring back your ferrygirl alive, ne?" he said sarcastically. Koenma pushed Kurama harder against the wall. He knew Kurama's deep, dark recesses as the ruthless thief and it bothered him why he hasn't fought back. He's been prepared to die in the hands of the kitsune when he stormed into his his home, filled with anger and resentment against him... against the tantei... against Kurama. He sent Botan to Ningenkai in the belief that the tantei would be able to protect Botan more than he could. Obviously, their years of fighting as a team has not wielded them well enough to protect a friend.

He knew, even before he sent Botan to Ningenkai, that the deity felt a special kind of affection towards the kitsune. Maybe that pushed him to have her under Kurama's protection while she was on Ningenkai. He was after the general happiness of his most trusted ferrygirl, after all. Maybe he secretly hoped that such time together would give both wounded souls a happy ending. He obviously was mistaken... and with it, he managed to put Botan's life in greater peril than if she stayed in Reikai instead. "I've accepted that no matter what form you may take... you're still the ruthless thief who plunders without mercy," Kurama flinched at his words and found the patience he wielded for the prince growing thinner.

"But I never knew hearts could be as frozen as yours. For a while there, you even had me believing that Botan was holding out for something." Kurama's glowered at the scalding words of the prince, "what are you talking about?" he asked, a threat thinly veiled in his voice. Koenma felt cold steel touch his neck, "I'm getting bored with all this soap opera dialogue between you two. Quit it," Hiei ordered. Koenma, not liking the abuse his neck seem to be taking these past few days, loosened his grip on Kurama and let his arm fall to his sides, eyeing the koorime warily. Who knows what's going through that demon mind of his, anyway?

Hiei shifted the tip of the katana to Kurama's neck, "I trust you're smart enough to know better than to retaliate." Kurama said nothing which Hiei took as a yes and sheathed his katana. "What are you doing here?" Kurama asked. Hiei's eyes shifted from left to right and back, feeling the ki of the room, "we'll have to wait for Yuusuke." As if on cue, Yuusuke came running into the living room, a blood-stained satin cloth at hand. "They took them," he said barely catching his breath from all the running he did.

"Them?" Kurama asked. "Botan and Keiko. They went to Keiko's seamstress for the wedding... wait a minute, why are you here? Shouldn't you be looking after Botan?" Yuusuke asked Kurama. "They snuck out of the house while I was cooking lunch," Kurama answered, his gaze unwavering though he felt a pit of guilt in his stomach. In truth, guilt was eating him up like hell and thousands of 'I should have's plagued his mind. But he was not one to show any emotion towards the entire mishap. Not while he's still in the dark over the cold shoulder Botan's been giving him since three nights ago in the ramen house. Yuusuke blinked, "they snuck out? Why?" he was thoroughly confused with the situation that he thought earlier, he had all figured out. "I believe this wouldn't be the time to discuss that," Hiei intervened.

Crimson eyes met Kurama's gaze, "Karasu's got both of them." Yuusuke who looked more confused than he already was turned to Hiei, "Karasu? He lives? Hey, wait a minute... this is getting way to weird... First, they snuck up on you, now..." Hiei went on, despite the careless facade Kurama has put on. "He's taken a ningen form, like you Kurama. He works with the people you had an encounter with two nights ago," he turned to Yuusuke, "the woman... you killed her brother. She's out for your blood and she will not hesitate to take Keiko's instead." Yuusuke's eyes narrowed dangerously. Koenma sucked his pacifier rather loudly, catching all three's attention. "So, Hiei, are you giving out all of this information for the sake of your entertainment over how miserable we seem," he eyed both Kurama and Yuusuke, "or there's a chance that somewhere in the middle of this you'd finally tell us where they are?"

Hiei smiled, "Hn. Still not over the fact that I now work for myself and not you, Koenma?" When Koenma failed to come up with an answer, Hiei went on, "much as I want to see you go through the motions of your miserable lives, I already got myself involved in this." Yuusuke gave him a questioning look which Kurama promptly answered with a slight smile, "Kufei managed to hurt Yukina in his pursuit of Botan in the ramen house." Hiei never fails to surprise him with the extent of his protectiveness over his sister. Hiei just gave out a non-committal 'Hn'. "I'm just glad that I don't have to fight alongside that orange-head baka-yarou."

"We haven't got much time," Koenma interrupted, "the planets will be in full alignment at the strike of twelve. Botan's powers as a hermit will resurge completely and will be enough to break Fukihiro's spell." Hiei went on and told them where they were holding Keiko and Botan and where they could enter. Once they had a plan laid out, he said in all seriousness and determination, "remember," his eyes glowered dangerously, "the ninja is mine."

They went by foot, except for Koenma who summoned a cloud to bring him to their destination. Hiei intentionally kept pace with Kurama and let Yuusuke lead the way to the direction of the ocean. You're angry kitsune, Hiei pointed out mentally. Kurama didn't respond to his friend's prodding. You are wondering how the crow got his hands on your deity, he continued. My deity? Kurama repeated. Oh, cut the bullshit. You may hide it from these baka but you should know better than to hide it from me, he said. Kurama still refused to let Hiei bully him into such conversation and waited in silence until the topic died out.

Hiei nodded towards a temple atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. He glanced at Kurama, not ready to get him off the hook yet. You know, he kissed her. Right after that night she went to your house, he said casually. Kurama's jaw tensed but still kept his reply. ... and she kissed him back, he added. Hiei felt a cold shiver go up his spine when he saw Kurama's eyes aver towards him, hints of gold stained his eyes yellow green.

"Where's the ningen?" Miru asked as he saw Botan's unconscious form seated up one corner, her back against one wall, her face a perfect picture of tranquility. "Nadori brought her in one of the dungeons, I believe. I still say it's rather foolish of her to take Urameshi's woman as a form revenge for her brother's death. Raizen's son may be stupid but not when drawn up against the wall," Minori remarked. Miru eyed his right hand, "do I hear fear in your voice, Karasu?" Minori's eyes narrowed on the youkai, "I fear no one, Miru. With how much I've recovered since the Ankoku Bujuutsukai, I can take on any of them. I can take on all of them," his lips figured to a smile, "that is after I've sent that kitsune back to where he should be... burning in hell that is."

Miru looked out through the window, "how soon will they come?" "Pretty soon. The koorime's jagan is very efficient. They'll have no trouble getting in," Minori answered, crouching in front of Botan's slumped form. He lightly traced her profile which was enough to rouse her to the verge of wakefulness. "It's best if you leave us, Miru. I'll take her to you when the time comes," he said without taking his eyes from Botan as her body made slight movements, starting to be completely aware of her surroundings. Miru smiled evilly before closing the door behind him, "just don't take too long, crow."

Botan heard Miru's voice distantly from the dream she was having, not forming words but sounded more like the hushed caress of the wind on a meadow. But it was enough to encourage her to open her heavy lids. The cold concrete wall and floor greeted her consciousness. Followed by the candle-lit room and the tall window across her. This habit of passing out definitely has to go, she thought wryly as every muscle in her body complained. Amazingly though, aside from the weary feeling, her mind was extremely clear and her senses completely aware of her surroundings. It's as if the sounds around her were a bit more lively, the colors of the night a bit more glaring. Had she had any idea on where she was, she would have readily gone in a singing fit in her almost drugged state.

"How are you feeling kawaii?" Minori asked from beside her, his profile silhouetted against the dark. "Minori-kun! Oh, I'm so glad you're here! Where are we?" she asked. "Daijobu ka, kawaii?" he repeated slowly. "Well, I do feel a bit tired, but other than that, I feel amazingly good," she answered. She saw him nod. "Ah... Minori-kun..." she began. "We're... how shall I say this... in my house," he answered. His house? This dark? Botan shivered invountarily, a reminder that she's slumped on the floor. She blinked at the reminder, trying to figure out a reasonable explanation on why he held his guests slumped on the floor. It came with her being gently lifted from the floor. "The electricity went out when we got here and I couldn't find my way to the bed. So instead of risking myself into tripping and having you get toppled down," Botan felt a soft fabric, followed by a soft mattress materialize beneath her.

He stayed close to her. Too close. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her lips, and hers against his. He gazed at her intently. Botan laughed nervously, "you didn't have to carry me." She knew she was fllirting. She couldn't help it, already, she's drowning in the blue depths of his gaze. His mouth quirked briefly before it closed down on hers. You wanted this. Sweet and warm to her taste, the kiss exorcised frustrations she tried so hard to forget. Such that when his tongue gained entry into her mouth, her unfamiliarity, instead of eliciting fear, gave way to a surrender. Botan felt her entire body surrender to the moment, to his possession. She closed her eyes and let herself be blinded by the mistake. She shoved a gentle hand on the short, silken strands of his hair and allowed him to push her further down into the bed. Be careful of what you wish for.

For Botan, the world narrowed down to them, Minori's lips drifting softly down her neck then back up to nip her ear. No longer could she make out intelligible words out of his whispers. No longer did she feel him free the first few buttons of her shirt. She was drowning... in a pool of emotions she never knew one could feel. She was a fool to allow herself to be sucked into a vortex of awakening sensations. But she was even more stupid when she allowed her brain to stop functioning. She wasn't drowning alone. He's exorcised his frustrations: every brief brush of his fingers against hers, every longing glance she threw at him, every clash of gazes... purplish pink against emerald green. And still with eyes closed, still blinded by the moment... she moaned. His name on her lips.

She was his, but he cannot be hers. You're never good enough. Realization struck her. Peaceful waves crashing violently against the rocks on the island they were in. She felt hands caressing her naked breasts and she froze. Kami-sama, what have I done? She saw herself turning from a desperate romantic to the lowest of sluts. "Yamete," she whispered, her eyes still closed, her head tossing from side to side. Minori smiled against her neck, hearing her plea but did nothing in accordance. His lips wandered lower, taking delight in the unexplored flesh. "Onegai... yamete, Minori-kun," she said more forcefully. The hand caressing his head deftly tightening to stress her point. This time he obeyed.

He looked at her for the longest time. Her eyes filled with confusion and her cheeks flushed almost adorably. Almost. He reached out and cupped her cheek, "it's okay, kawaii," his thumb stroking it gently. "Perfectly okay," he repeated with a smile. Botan reluctantly met his gaze, "honto?" she asked. He nodded.

"I hope you had a great time imagining I was your sweet, little kitsune," his voice had switched into a harsh tone, his hand now was yanking her hair down. Botan winced in pain, a small cry escaping her lips. "Because I didn't whore for you for no price, kawaii," at that he pulled her by the hair off the bed and onto her feet. "And what a price you will pay," he promised dragging her out of the room.

Author's note: Surprised? Shocked? Disgusted? Do e-mail me at koishii_65@yahoo.com. Favorable comments would mean I should push through my original plan of writing the last part (1 chapter away~Wai!) as a lemon between you-know-who. Flames... well, who knows what I'll write instead? ^.^

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