My Christmas Angel

My Christmas Angel

Alternate ending of Trials of Reikai

by ARaZhi

"The High Council calls this session into order!"

The sound of the gavel cut through the noisy room.

"Enma Daioh, you are charged with using low class youkais to further your treacherous acts against the three worlds."

Silence.

The air is thick with tension.

An hour passed by and the verdict is about to be announced...

"The accused, Enma Daioh, Lord of Reikai, is found guilty!"

The room erupted in chaos.

Koenma shut his eyes. He could feel Botan's comforting hand on his shoulder.

The Chief Councilor began to speak. "Silence!" she thundered. *BANG!*

Silence.

Enma will be stripped off of his title as Lord of Reikai. His powers and duties will be transfered to his son for the time being."

For the time being?" he echoed, feeling lightheaded.

He was still in a daze when Botan grabbed his arm and almost dragged him as she flew off on her oar to avoid the crowd.

~*~

"Koenma-sama?"

Koenma raised his head, tired, red eyes gazed back at Botan.

"If you're resting, I'll just go back..." Botan moved towards the door.

"NO!"

Botan looked back at him, surprised that he suddenly raised his voice.

He cleared his throat.

"I mean.. no. It--it's okay," he's not going to turn her away now, especially not after all the help she'd given him. The trial had drained him a whole lot more than he is willing to admit. If it hadn't been for Botan, who tried and successfully managed to cheer him up, he'd be in a worse situation now. Much worse. And, undoubtedly, even more depressed.

He sighed tiredly and leaned back in his chair. For some strange and unknown reason, being in his older form makes him tire faster.

Or maybe it's just the emotional drain of this morning's verdict.

He will now lead Reikai...

...but somehow...

Somehow, it doesn't feel right.

Taking over his father's position after his father have tainted their name doesn't seem too...

...honor---

<No!> he forced himself to abadon that line of thinking. <I don't want to think about that right now. I already have a headache.> And as what Yusuke and Kuwabara usually say, "thinking hurts."

"What day is it in Ningenkai?" he asked Botan.

"It's winter down there, Koenma-sam--"

He held up a hand to cut her off. "Can you drop the "sama"? Onegai? Tousama's no longer here and he's the only one who instead that you address me with that silly honorific."

"Whatever you say, Koenma," Botan visibly relaxed and grinned at him.

"Winter, you say... is it almost Christmas?"

"I think so. When I was there yesterday, Yusuke-kun was shopping..."

Koenma sweatdropped.

"...along with Kuwabara-kun."

He sweatdropped again. Yusuke and Kuwabara shopping together seems like a disaster waiting to happen.

"And the others?"

"Lemme see..." Botan flopped herself down on a chair and tilted her head to the side in deep thought. "Yesterday was the last day of work. I ran over Kurama-kun. I didn't see him since he's buried under a ton of gifts from his admirers."

He chuckled. Who would've thought that Makai's most feared and legendary youko would be reincarnated into a ningen whose main problem besides bad ass youkais are screaming fangirls and, worse yet, fanboys?

"Then there's Shizuru-san who was studying how to cook the perfect Christmas dinner from Keiko-chan. She told me that Christmas dinner will be her gift to her family. When I got there the floor was covered with flour, the sink was overflowing, something was burning in the oven..."

A couple of minutes later, both of them were wiping tears of laughter from their eyes.

"I told Shizuru-san that maybe she ought to consider giving her mother, Yukina-chan, and Kuwabara-kun free make-overs. She wants to be a beautician. That way, she gets to hit two..." Botan paused, trying to recall that oh-so-common Ningen saying, "two butterflies with one stake!"

Koenma facefaulted but didn't bother to correct Botan.

<She's watching too much vampire fights in Buffy> he reasoned, silently.

"She told me that it was a good idea and that she'll dye Kuwabara-kun's hair purple because she hates orange," Botan looked at him and grinned.

He coughed, trying to hide his laughter, as the mental image of Kuwabara with purple hair comes to mind.

"Then, I went to Yukina-chan who was in the Kuwabara's family kitchen baking cake. She asked me to taste it and I ended up getting chills." Botan facefaulted. "I told her that Keiko-chan *bake* cakes in a *heated* oven not in a *frozen* one."

Koenma swallowed back his laughter. It won't serve him well to laugh at the twin of a youkai as hot-tempered as Hiei.

"When I was on my way back, I saw someone in black slipped, fell, and skidded on the ice rink. Then the whole ice rink just melted! I wonder how that happened in the middle of winter..."

Koenma facefaulted.

"Why don't we go down and visit them this Christmas? It ought to be better than spending the day here."

"Really?! That is so great!"

Before Koenma could reply, Botan jumped on her oar and practically dragged him all the way to Ningenkai.

~*~

It doesn't snow like this in Reikai. It haven't snowned in Ningenkai in ages! The last snowfall happened when he was born. In fact, most of the time, the weather is just either warm or cool, never very hot or cold. Sometimes it rains, but usually, when the weather changes to something besides warm or cool, something very bad or very good is about to happen.

On impulse, he grabbed Botan's hand and led her to the nearest spot with a thick layer of snow.

"Lets make angels on the snow!"

Like little kids playing, they lay back down on the snow, laughing and giggling as they move their arms and legs to create snow angels.

Satisfied, they both got up and admired their works.

"Nice, huh?"

"Hai. But I'm cold now. I want a hot chocolate!"

"Race you to Keiko's shop!"

Koenma took off.

"Matte! Koenma! You cheated!"

Botan raced after him.

When he got to the door leading to Keiko's shop, he stopped and held the door open for Botan who was only two or three strides behind him.

"You cheated!" Botan chided him, gently. She poked him lightly on the side, knowing that he's ticklish at his sides.

"Aaahhhhh!! Stop it! Botan!"

Botan grinned at him.

They stepped inside the door and stopped dead in their tracks...

"Hold it right there!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"What?!" Botan ask in alarm.

Koenma looked around anxiously for any signs of trouble.

Kurama pointed up.

Botan and Koenma looked up.

Mistletoe.

Both of them looked at their friends blankly.

Shizuru was smiling in amusement.

Yukina and Keiko were giggling.

Yusuke and Kuwabara were grinning.

Hiei gave them a dismissive and a "what-do-I-care" kind of "hn". After knowing Hiei for quite some time, one would discover that "Hn" means a great deal of many things.

Kurama shot them an expectant smile.

"What?" Koenma, squeaked nervously.

"Mistletoe," Kurama pointed out the obvious.

"So?" Koenma asked.

Suddenly, the whole room erupted into a chant.

"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!"

"WHAT?!" Botan and Koenma demanded. They glanced at each other. Blushed hotly. Then, looked away.

Yusuke stepped in front of them and crossed his arms. "You're not getting in this room until you kiss each other." He grinned at them as though he'd just solved the most complex mathematical expression faster than Kurama and Kaitou combined.

"It's freezing out here, Yusuke-kun!"

"All the more reason for you to kiss now, ne?" Kuwabara's grin widened.

"C'mon, it's just one kiss. It's tradition, you wouldn't want to break it now, would you?" Kurama commented.

"It's really freezing out here," Botan hissed at Koenma.

"I know."

They looked at each other. Back at their friends. Back at each other.

Koenma gently tipped up Botan's face and kissed her lightly. His lips, accidentally on purpose, grazed the corner of Botan's lips. A warm shiver travelled throughout his body and for several moments the cold, the snow, their friends, and the whole Ningenkai have melted away.

Both of them snapped back into reality when the whole room erupted into cheers.

They blushed hotly.

Koenma glared at the guys while Botan glared at the girls.

They entered the room and each quickly grabbed a cup of hot chocolate.

"Oi! What happened to tr--- amp ump agh!" Botan covered Yusuke's mouth before he could ask Koenma about the trial.

"I went to a great deal of trouble to cheer him up after the trial, Yusuke!" Botan whispered. "If you ask him that he'll get depressed all over again."

"But--armp rup!"

"No! Ask him and I'll tell Keiko-chan you wanted to know my vital statistics!"

Yusuke glared.

"His father was convicted," Botan said, quietly. "Let's not bring it up."

Yusuke nodded.

~*~

The group began to break up before midnight after exchanging gifts and greetings.

Koenma and Botan went back to Reikai.

On the way back, Botan noticed that Koenma's mood have started to darken.

"Something wrong?"

Silence.

"Koenma?"

Koenma blinked, "Huh?"

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm just thinking."

"About?"

"Everything? Nothing? Does it matter?"

"Of course it does..."

"I think it will be best for me to leave Reikai, Botan."

"Leave?!"

"Hai. The family name was tainted because of tousama's wrong doings. I don't think I'll be able to gain their trust..."

"But you're different from your father! How many times have you gone beyond the call of duty? How many times have you risked your life to save Nngenkai?"

"I'm weak, Botan. I didn't save Ningenkai. Yusuke and the others did. I just stood in the way and nearly got them in trouble."

"That is not true! If you didn't arrive, Yusuke would have died! And you're not weak. Everyone have their weaknesses. Everybody fails sometime in their life," Botan took his hand. "You're strong, Koenma. Nobody who's weak can do the endless job that you do."

Koenma doesn't want to believe her.

"Koenma, please! Leaving won't help!" She gazed at him pleadingly.

"Just go, Botan. I want to be alone."

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Botan---"

Before Koenma can finish his statement, flakes of snow began to fall.

"If you leave where would you go?" Botan's eyes began to water.

<Where would I go?> Koenma thought to himself. He absent-mindedly intertwined his fingers with Botan's. <What about, Botan? I can't just leave her.>

"Don't go, onegai?"

The snow began to fall heavier and he recalled his mother's words...

"When you grow up, the gods will tell you when you've found your queen."

"Will they speak to me, Kaachan?" chibi Koenma asked.

"No, they won't. But when the right time comes, snow will fall once again in Reikai while you're with the girl you love. And once you find her, don't ever let her go."

Botan gazed up at him, "Don't leave me, onegai? I'd help you out with the palace. Just, please, don't go."

Koenma gazed deeply into her lavender eyes. How could he bear the thought of breaking the heart of an angel?

He took her hand and kissed it.

"I won't leave you. Not now. Not ever."

He drew her into his arms and buried his face in her hair.

- o w a r i -

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