Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Foxgloves ❯ Nabbed ( Chapter 3 )

~*~

Botan burst through the doors of Koenma's office and scurried toward his desk, her breath short and ragged. The toddler looked up in surprise as she collapsed into a chair before him.

"Botan? What's the matter?"

"Koenma-sama!" She panted, putting one hand to her chest, "Koenma-sama, please don't send me back to Maikai!"

The Reikai prince was alarmed at the expression on her face. She looked terrified.

"What? Why? What happened?"

"Youko Kurama!"

"Yes? What about him?" Koenma's tone became suspicious, but his jaw dropped when the ferry girl broke down in tears.

"He said - he said he killed all those demons to lure me there! And he tried to attack me but he couldn't because I was in my spirit form and he can see my spirit form and then he-"

"Wait! Wait, he can see your spirit form?"

Botan nodded slowly, sniffing.

"And… He said he killed those demons to make you go to Maikai?"

Again, Botan nodded.

"But… Why?"

"I don't know." She curled into herself, wrapping her arms about her knees.

"O- Okay… I'll um… I'll assign you to Ningenkai until we sort this out. You can be an assistant to the Rekai Tantei. Is that alright with you?"

Botan nodded feverishly, bighting her knuckle. She couldn't entirely explain this ominous feeling she had, after all, Youko Kurama couldn't touch her as long as she was in her spirit form. But still, some base instinct told her not to tempt fate. She had to get away from him.

For a second time, the door to the young Rekai prince's office was shoved unceremoniously open. Another ferry girl, a redhead, dashed in - her face drawn and pale.

"Hinageshi?" Koenma watched as she scuffled toward his desk, oar held tightly against her. She bowed hurriedly, then noticed Botan.

"Botan-san!" She squeaked, throwing herself at the older girl before breaking into sobs.

"Botan-san!" Hinageshi grimaced, "It's awful!"

"What's awful?" Koenma asked, picking up a pile of papers and waving them -fan-like - at the two girls, in an attempt to calm them down. The smaller ferry girl turned toward him, rubbing her nose on her sleeve.

"Oh, Koenma sir! I was in Maikai, ferrying all those souls like you told me - and there were a lot of them, sir! - but I was gathering them into a group, and then, suddenly, this little youkai came out of nowhere and started talking to me! He could see me, Koenma-sama!"

Koenma and Botan both glanced at each other, frowning. Hinageshi took a deep breath before continuing.

"Anyway, he said that he was responsible for killing all those other demons - isn't that terrible? And then he asked if I knew you, Botan-san and I said of course I did. He said he had a message for from Youko Kurama! Youko Kurama, Botan! Why in the three realms would he have a message for you?"

Botan bit her lip and looked imploringly at Koenma.

"What was the message, Hinageshi?" He demanded. The little redhead squirmed under the harsh tone.

"He said, that no matter what, he'll find you. But why is he even looking for you? I don't understand… And that demon was so scary!"

"Thank you, Hinageshi, that will be all."

Surprised by this abrupt dismissal, Hinagshi blinked several times before clutching her oar and hurrying out of the room, tossing a worried glance over her shoulder at Botan.

Koenma sighed and plopped gracelessly into a seated position on his desk. Botan mewled softly in distress, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Koenma-sama." She croaked. He looked down at her, his eyes narrowed.

"Don't worry, Botan. I promise you'll be safe in Ningenkai."

"Just like I was safe in the battle with Yakumo?" She asked bitterly. Koenma frowned, sucking furiously on his pacifier.

"Trust me, Botan, there will be no way he can get to you while you are on earth. I'll arrange for your meeting with the Tantei tomorrow." He motioned for her to go. She rose stiffly from her seat and left the office.

As she walked down the hall she couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on her back. Something was going to happen, she knew it. Botan pulled the ends of her sleeves distractedly, wondering if this paranoia was ever going to go away.

~*~

It had been three months. Three months since he had last spoken to her.

He had continued to kill as indiscriminately as he had warned, yet still she never showed. It was always some other ferry girl, and they all refused to tell him where Botan was.

Golden eyes sparkled with anger.

The rose whip wrapped around a demon's throat, and Kurama yanked - sneering. The demon fell to its knees, headless.

He was in a foul mood.

Youko turned to the last demon, his cool gaze freezing the youkai in place.

"Please," the bird demon begged, backing against a tree. "Please!"

Kurama grinned in wicked amusement. "Please, what?"

The demon cringed, fluttering it's torn, useless wings and staring pleadingly at the fox youkai standing over him. Youko bent down, his fierce amber eyes piercing.

"Please what?" He asked again, his voice lower.

"Please… Please spare me…" The fallen youkai whimpered. Kurama sneered, his lip curling upward to reveal perfectly pointed canines. Deadly.

"Why? Why do you think your life is worth sparing?"

The bird demon mumbled something. Youko cracked his whip sharply - causing the winged youkai to flinch.

"What was that?"

"I don't want to die."

Kurama snickered darkly.

"That is no reason. You are simply afraid." His whip vanished.

The injured demon looked up, expecting to see sympathetic eyes - only to be met with a cold stare as Kurama flexed his claws. He hardly had time to draw enough breath to scream before the kitsune fell upon him - all teeth and claws, ripping, biting, tearing… The bird demon let out one sharp, bloodcurdling scream that ended in a gurgle as Youko ripped his throat out.

~*~

Hiei stepped delicately over a corpse and sighed. His friend was getting sloppy. Granted, they had never exactly been neat about slaughtering other demons, but there had always been a sort of finesse. There was an art to a good killing afterall, and without those very basic guidelines what they did could simply be classified as a massacre.

Hiei did not mind blood, strewn bodyparts, or internal organs. But the macabre of the surrounding area reminded him more of the aftermath of a spoiled child's temper-tantrum than it did of Youko's usual smooth killings.

Everything was so helter-skelter. It made Hiei somewhat ill - because, without any control, what made him and Youko better than those they slaughtered? Was his friend losing his touch?

The sound of running water broke his thoughts. Following it, he came upon a steam.

"Nice of you to join me, Hiei. Did you have a nice day?"

The koorime turned, Youko stood a few paces behind him - soaked with blood.

"Well, I didn't have near as much fun as you, obviously."

Youko smirked, licking gore from his fingers.

"No, you didn't care to join me today."

Hiei frowned as Youko stepped pass him, wading into the cold water.

"I don't prefer to be in your company when you lose control of yourself - that is, I suppose, your excuse for that mess back there?"

Youko snorted, watching the blood seep from his clothing and skin, causing a river of red to surround him.

"I know you dislike the simplicities of a good vent Hiei."

"Oh, so that was it? You were taking out your frustrations upon them were you?"

Youko glared at the fire demon from the corner of his eye. "It's no worse an excuse than the ones we usually use to justify ourselves."

Hiei crossed his arms, his red eyes narrowing. "You're hung up on that ferry girl."

Youko shrugged, but Hiei could see his claws flexing unconsciously.

"And if I am?" He sighed. "I can't find her Hiei, and none of the other ferry girls will tell me where she is." Youko's golden eyes glinted harshly and he bared his teeth. "If I could just-" He lifted his clawed hands and made a strangling motion - "touch them a little. I'm sure I could entice them to talk."

Hiei smirked. Now was the perfect time to deliver his news.

"Don't bother with them, Kurama. I have all the information you need."

Surprised, Youko turned to face him. "What's this?"

Hiei leaned against a tree trunk and regarded Kurama closely. "I happened upon two ferry girls on my way here." He snorted. "Unlike you, I did not make them aware of my presence. They were happy to talk then. And can you guess who the topic of their little conversation was?"

Youko ran a tongue over his lips, his eyes bright. "Botan." He murmured.

"Exactly. I happen to know where she is at this very moment."

Kurama calmly submerged himself, allowing the remaining blood to be washed away. He rose from the water and moved gracefully toward Hiei, his silver hair dripping and plastered to his cheeks, his clothes clinging to his body.

"Tell me." He whispered.

Hiei did not like the glint in the kitsune's eyes - he knew obsession when he saw it. He hesitated. Youko - faster than Hiei thought possible - pinned him to the tree.

"Tell me!" He snarled.

Hiei didn't bother to struggle. "Earth. She's been assigned to earth. To Koenma's Reikai Tantei. Find them, and you'll find her."

Youko released Hiei and looked thoughtfully at the sky. "Earth? Koenma's trying to keep her away from me, then. Well, no matter. I'll find her now."

"Fox." Hiei warned, "be careful. Koenma's forces are stronger than you think."

Kurama waved a hand dismissively, and continued to mutter to himself.

For the first time that he could remember, Hiei felt immensely nervous in the kitsune's presence.

~*~

Yusuke frowned as Botan laughed at him.

"You have to go, Koenma's orders! Besides… As a reward, you get these concert tickets - and I know you've been dying to go!"

Yusuke eyed the tickets in Botan's hands covetously.

"Yeah… But I don't wanna waste my weekend with grandma again!" He whined. "Why can't you just give me the tickets, and we'll pretend that I went to Genkai's?"

"Hah. Nice try Yusuke, but like I said, Koenma-sama's orders."

Yusuke shuffled his feet. "Awww, but Botan-"

"No buts!" The blue haired deity grinned. "Let's go!" She grabbed his arm and began to tug him along behind her.

"Alright, alright! Yeesh, let go, would ya?! I'm comin'." Yusuke glanced at the girl beside him. She had forgone her oar in favor of the more natural (and less frightening, in Yusuke's opinion) option of walking to Genkai's temple. Yusuke had tried to convince her to adorn some ningen clothing, but she had been loath to give up her pink kimono. Luckily, however, the streets were practically empty today, so they weren't drawing as much attention as they would have been normally with Botan's odd attire.

Botan for her part, was enjoying herself. Not that she was sadistic, but she did enjoy slightly torturing Yusuke - it was all in good fun anyway. Since she had been assigned to him several months ago, they had managed to form an odd - but nevertheless firm - friendship. They enjoyed teasing each other and despite Yusuke's protests, she knew he was eager to become stronger and if training under Genkai would help then he wasn't truly opposed to it.

They continued together, passing a few shops, houses before coming upon the densely wooded area that surrounded Genkai's. They stepped onto the path and made their way to the stairs, Yusuke still mumbling weak protests while Botan rolled her eyes.

Then, she felt it - a brief and cold recognition in the back of her mind.

She froze, stopping so suddenly that Yusuke almost ran into her.

"Oi! What the heck-" He saw the look on her face - frowning and staring fretfully into the treeline. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, his eyes following hers.

"What's wrong, Botan?" He asked her softly. Botan quickly turned to face him, cheerful smile back in place.

"Nothing, Yusuke! Go on ahead to Genkai's, I'll catch up in a minute!"

Yusuke eyed her suspiciously.

"Well… Are you sure? For a minute there you looked… Maybe I shouldn't leave you alone."

Botan giggled and poked him in the chest.

"Awww, are you worried about me?"

Yusuke blushed lightly before she continued. "Silly. Trust me I'll be along in just a moment. Now get going, you know how Genkai gets when you're late!"

"Alright…" He said reluctantly. Yusuke cast one more glance toward the forest, but could sense anything. Shrugging, he turned and continued toward Genkai's temple. Botan watched him for a moment, then turned and walked into the forest, smile slipping from her face.

In the shade of the trees it was a few degrees cooler, but the temperature had nothing to do with the chill Botan was feeling. She looked carefully around, but after several minutes of searching she didn't find anything. Slowly, her tensed shoulders relaxed and she let out a sigh, bringing her hand to her forehead.

She knew she was being silly, thinking she had sensed him. She was just being paranoid.

"Good afternoon, Botan."

She whiled around, bringing her hands to her mouth to stifle a scream.

Youko was not even an arms length away, leaning against a tree. He was staring at her, gold eyes sparkling with malicious intent, his lips pulled up in a feral grin.

Botan gasped softly and froze.

Youko cocked his head to the side.

"What's wrong? You look surprised to see me."

She could feel her knees trembling. This couldn't be happening… Koenma had promised her she'd be safe here…

"I told you I'd find you. How long did you think you could hide? Honestly now."

His pointed gaze pierced her like a knife. She had to get away.

She took a step backward and summoned her oar, but she had hardly grasped it when Youko's rose whip wrapped around the handle and yanked it from her hand.

Before she could blink he had her pinned against a tree. He griped her arms painfully, his claws tearing into the sleeves of her pink kimono.

Youko leaned in close to her face, teeth bared, his silver hair falling softly around them.

"Trying to escape from he?" He snarled.

Botan paled, her mouth going dry with fear.

Youko laughed at her, the soft, musical sound causing her to flinch.

"But you can't. Not this time. Not now that you have a human body…" His eyes began to show a distant hunger. "Not now that I can touch you."

He raised one hand and trailed it slowly down her cheek.

Botan closed her eyes tightly. Though his touch was gentle, there was something violent in the motion. He chuckled, his lips brushing softly against her ear.

"Now you're afraid of me? What happened to that fearless thing I met on the battlefield?"

Botan opened her eyes to glare at him, Youko smiled delightedly.

"My body was dying, I didn't care then!"

"Mmmm…" He purred, his free hand now running through her hair, his claws shredding the rubber band that held it up.

"So," he whispered, "if I mortally wounded you then, would you stop trembling?"

Botan bared her teeth, wishing she had the strength to push the youkai off of her.

"Ah," he sighed, "there's that fire I was looking for! It appears as if I won't have need to kill you after all."

Botan pushed against him, fury rising within her. Youko calmly pressed his body against hers, pinned her against the tree once more.

"What do you want?!" She raged.

"What do you think?" He asked, amused. He ran his hands down her sides, grasping her hips loosely. She blanched, staring at him wide eyed.

"My, you are observant." He laughed.

"Let her go, thief!""

Youko saw the spiky haired demon from the corner of his eye. He leaned his forehead against Botans, sighing.

"I apologize for this interruption," he told her, "excuse me while I teach this lout that it is rude to interrupt." He stepped away from her, turning to face the other demon.

Botan immediately tried to bolt for her oar, but was dragged back against the tree by its branches and secured by vines.

"Don't leave, we're not finished, you and I!" Youko called over his shoulder, smirking. "Don't worry, this won't take long."

Casca growled.

"It's okay, Botan, I'll get you out of here."

Youko laughed, unleashing his rose-whip and facing him.

"Don't count on it."

Casca flexed his own deadly claws and - snarling - leapt for the kitsune. Youko was much to fast for him, he darted out of the way and Casca landed none to softly in a pile of leaves and twigs. He gnashed his teeth and turned again toward the laughing Youko. He leapt once more, only to be met by a vicious lash across his side. This time, he fell panting, crumpled at Botan's feet.

"You have skill." Youko observed as he stepped close to him. "But you aren't thinking. To focused on our little deity here, I think." He knelt in front of Casca, bidding more vines to creep forward and wrap around the demon, holding him in place.

"I think you are in love with her." Youko continued thoughtfully. "Is this true?"

Casca looked up at Botan, an apology bubbling over his lips. Youko slapped him.

"Is it true?!" He snarled. "Because she's mine. I have hunted her down and she now belongs to me."

He stood and gathered a shocked and tethered Botan into his arms, pausing to breathe in the scent of her hair and run his hot tongue down the side of her neck.

"Mine…" He growled softly into her ear. Botan shivered and began to struggle, her fear breaking her shocked silence.

"What… What are you talking about?! I don't belong to you! Let me go, you psycho-!"

Youko bared his teeth and took a seed from his hair, grinding it into a fine dust between his fingers and blowing it calmly into the deity's face. Botan's struggling stopped and she went completely slack, her eyes closing as if in slumber. Youko watched her contently for a moment, a triumphant smile lighting his face. He leaned down and nuzzled her lightly before turning back to Casca, his expression darkening once more.

"She's mine, you filth. Don't ever even think of touching her - to do so, you'll now have to come through me. Tell that to your whining child god."

With that, he turned from the fallen demon and bolted through the woods, his precious cargo held closely against him.

~*~

A.N.: Well, that's it for chapter 3! Hope you all liked it! Thanks to the following reviewers:

Anti Botan: Well, I think it's sad that you let your dislike of one character completely ruins your objectivity. I feel bad for you. But if you don't like Botan, then why inflict this horribly obvious K/B upon yourself? I would think you'd avoid the pain by not reading it.

Elisande: Thanks! I'm huge K/B fan (obviously) so it's always nice to have a convert. And don't worry, Anti Botan doesn't worry me - she's obviously a sad twelve year old little girl who thinks writing self inserts is kewl! And, heh, I've read some of her stuff and can only feel sorry for her.

Redwater: Okay, here's the next chapter! Hope you liked it!