by Ritz

I don't know how she's talked me into this, I think vaguely. I feel a little self-pity for being induced so easily by her smile when she asked me to come, and my hands twitch as I think of all the paperwork that has to be stamped and verified. I should be there but nooo...somehow, I end up here in Kurama's house...playing this--this--

"Kiss him, Keiko. Kiss him!" Botan cheers.

Keiko flushes but gets up slowly and pads over to where Hiei is sitting.

"Don't even think about it, Woman," Hiei says immediately.

Kurama places a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Hiei. It's just a game."

Hiei scowls. "This is a stupid game."

I nod to myself, agreeing with Hiei. This is a stupid game, I think. Once again, I wonder how the hell Botan managed to drag me here--and in my teenage form sans pacifier, no less.

Why do all my thoughts just turn to putty around her?

"I say we just skip over Keiko's turn," Yusuke offers eagerly.

"No way, Urameshi!" Kuwabara protests. "You're such a spoilsport! We have to follow the rules!"

"Who's idea was it to play this stupid game?" Hiei demands. His eyes slides over to Kurama. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Kurama blinks wide eyes at Hiei and gives him an innocent smile. "What? You don't like it?"

"Hn. Stupid fox," Hiei replies, glaring fiercely at Kurama. "I'm leaving."

"Oh Hiei-san! Please stay!" Yukina begs.

Hiei's eyes slides to Yukina and he seems to waver.

"Did I also mention that it was Yukina's idea to play this game?" Kurama adds, directing a sweet pseudo-innocent smile at Hiei.

Hiei glowers. "I don't believe you."

"He's right, Hiei-san!" Yukina cuts in. "I heard about this game and since I never played it before, Kurama decided to let me try it."

If Hiei's glares could kill, Kurama would have rapidly become one burnt and crispy kitsune. Finally dropping his burning glare at Kurama a few seconds later, Hiei once again turns to leave.

"Yamenasai, Hiei-san!" Yukina begs, turning sweet red eyes on Hiei. "Onegai...please stay here!"

"Just let him go, Yukina-san," Kuwabara says as a little green-eyed demon of jealousy dances wickedly on his shoulder.

"Iie, Kazuma-san!" Yukina protests. "Everyone should play this. Oh, onegai, Hiei-san! Please stay!"

Hiei falters and being the sucker that he is for Yukina, he subsides and sits back down.

Amused, I watch as the jealousy demon on Kuwabara's shoulder duplicates and became two. I hide a smile as I watch him fume. If only he knew... I think.

Kuwabara glares at Hiei. "You annoying little shrimp."

"Who are you calling a shrimp, you big oaf?!?!" Hiei snarls, jumping to his feet.

"Hiei!" Kurama admonishes, placing a restraining hand on his friend's arm.

"Hiei-san! Kazuma-san!" Yukina cries at the same time, "Onegai...please don't fight!"

Hiei looks at Yukina and simply melts under her pleading gaze. Wordlessly, he sits back down with a look of pure torture on his face. Kurama graces Hiei with a sweet smile which he pointedly ignores. I marvel at Kurama's brass when it comes to the fire demon. It honestly takes a lot of guts to withstand Hiei's anger, and I can --unfortunately-- recall quite a few timmes when I've found myself unnerved by Hiei's deadly glare.

"Go, Keiko," I say calmly, clearing my head of those rather unwanted thoughts and ignoring the heated glare Hiei turns on me with an effort.

Keiko blushes and steps hesitantly up to Hiei. Hiei puts on his usual 'this is such a waste of my time' expression and closes his eyes. However, I see his hands tighten into fists of nervousness and I chuckle quietly to myself. Keiko quickly leans down and brushes her lips lightly against Hiei's before retreating to her seat in a fit of blushes. Yusuke places a protective arm around Keiko as soon as she returns to her seat next to him.

"Your spin, Hiei," I say, smiling.

He glowers. "I know." He lifts his right hand and spins the bottle furiously. It spins rapidly and then finally comes to a stop at...

Yukina.

Hiei's eyes practically pop out of his head. Yukina blushes. The little green-eyed demons on Kuwabara's shoulders multiply into 4 and are now playing ring around the rosy. Kurama looks amused. Shizuru smiles lazily. Botan blushes. Yusuke is practically choking himself in an effort not to laugh. Keiko looks around, wondering why everyone is acting so oddly. I chew nervously on my pacifier and fix my eyes on Hiei, wondering how he is going to handle this.

"There's no way that shrimp can kiss someone as sweet and gentle as Yukina-san," Kuwabara declares. "Tell him to spin again!"

"Oi, Kuwabara," Yusuke teases, "weren't you the one who said we have to follow the rules?"

Kuwabara flushs. "Tha-that's different. He--"

"Kuwabara-san," Yukina lays a light hand on his arm, "Yusuke-san is right. We have to follow the rules." She turns to Hiei and graces him with a sweet smile.

Hiei gulps compulsively.

"Hiei-san," Yukina says, "I'm ready." She tilts her face up and closes her eyes.

Hiei swallows but stalks over to her. Bending over, he stops just shy of touching her lips and kisses the air instead of her. Then, he straightens and blurs back to his seat.

"Oi, you didn't--" Yusuke protests.

Hiei glares at Yusuke, death in his eyes. "I didn't WHAT?"

Yusuke immediately shuts up. "Nothing."

Yukina blushes, looking strangely dissapointed by the kiss, or rather, lack of it. Kuwabara still scowls but brightens as Yukina spins the translucent green bottle on the floor. While it spins, Kuwabara leans forward and crosses his fingers, hoping he will finally get a chance to kiss his beautiful, delicate Yukina. Hiei, on the other hand, just glares at the bottle, DARING it to stop at Kuwabara.

However.

The bottle slows and Kuwabara lets out a groan as he realizes that the bottle has stopped at...

"Kurama," Hiei growls, turning his heated glare onto the taller demon sitting next to him.

Kurama gives Hiei a bright smile before turning to Yukina. Yukina gets up, her face pink as she gracefully walks over to Kurama. Kuwabara grits his teeth, looking like he is going to explode. Intrigued, I look at his shoulder, curious to see what his little friends are doing. Sure enough, his jealousy demons had stopped playing ring around the rosy and are now break-dancing.

Yukina leans down as Kurama tilts his face up and after a long pause, Yukina bends down and presses her lips lightly on Kurama's. It is a sweet, fleeting kiss and I can't help thinking that Yukina and Kurama would be a very cute couple. However, I muse with a glance at Hiei, Hiei would probably kill Kurama then.

"My spin, then," Kurama says in his soft alto voice. His face is the blank cheerful mask that it always is as he gracefully spins the bottle, his long fingers seeming to caress the green glass. The bottle somehow appears to spin with the same smooth quality as Kurama's movements, and finally comes to a stop at--

No. Not her.

I feel dread well up within me and I glance at the "recipient" of the bottle, noting how uncomfortable she looks and how red her cheeks are.

Beautiful.

For some reason, my chest feels tight, and my heart is pounding so fast I feel like I'm going to faint at any minute. I don't know if it's due to her beauty or if it's just plain jealousy.

I think it's a combination of both.

Why did Kurama have to get her?

I can feel my own little green-eyed demon materialize and start dancing frenzily on my shoulder, and I quickly tell myself to get a grip. I mean, why am I getting so worked up over this? It's just a game, right?

But I like her, a voice in me protests.
Yeah, another -probably more reasonable- voice in my head retorts, but does she like you?

Ah. Touche.

Biting the inside of my cheek to restrain myself from vocally protesting, I wish desparately for my pacifier. Though the pacifier is mainly used to store my reiki, I have to admit that it has rather therapeutic uses too. At times of high stress or emotion, the sucking of my pacifier helps calm and steady me.

And this is definitely a time of high stress.

Kurama glances in my direction, and I quickly try to smooth my face of all emotion. However, a knowing look appears on the redhead's face, and I swear that Kurama can read me as easily as those botany books he devours in his spare time.

It must be his youko instincts, I think somewhat sourly.
The idea of being easy to read is not good for my ego, and I send a subtle glare in Kurama's direction, telling him to quit it. Kurama merely ignores me, and getting up in one fluid movement he heads toward Botan. Botan looks up at him, her face flushed and her expression nervous.

Kurama smiles at her reassuringly. "Sumimasen, Botan-san," he says politely as he tilts her chin up gently. When her face is positioned so that she has to look up at him, Kurama presses a sweet chaste kiss on her lips.

Or at least I hope it's chaste.

When it's over, Botan quickly looks down in embarrassment, and Kurama pats her shoulder lightly in a obviously friendly gesture before he returns to his seat. My eyes follow him as he moves back to his position next to Hiei, and I can't help but feel jealous.

Why do things always seem to be in Kurama's favour?

I don't realize I'm staring at Kurama until he directs a knowing smile in my direction. Hastily turning away, I fix my eyes on my faithful employee but she resolutely keeps her attention on the green bottle lying on the floor and refuses to lift her eyes.

"Your spin, Botan," Keiko prompts encouragingly.

"Aa..hai!" Botan replies quickly, and as if we would scold her if she hesitated any longer, she twists the bottle almost roughly, causing it to spin in dizzying circles.

The bottle seems to spin endlessly when finally it stops--

--at me.

I blink. Botan somehow manages to turn redder than before. Kurama's eyes flicker over the both of us briefly before he smiles like the cat that just ate the canary. Hiei merely grunts. Kuwabara and Yusuke laugh, while Yukina and Keiko both seem to beam happily. Shizuru merely takes another puff of her cigarette, her lips stretched in her lazy smile.

"Ko-Koenma-sama," Botan squeaks, "atashi..."

My throat feels oddly dry, but somehow I find myself saying, "Ii yo, Botan. It's okay...I--I--" I trail off, too embarrassed to say what I think privately in my mind: I want this.

Botan turns an almost unnatural shade of red, but she nods in compliance. Easing herself up, she slowly heads toward me. I watch her approach and desparately try to calm the rapid beating of my heart. I can almost swear that my heart is going a hundred miles a minute...

Finally, she stops in front of me. "Koenma-sama," she repeats softly. I just stare up at her. When did she become so lovely? It's so weird that I didn't notice how beautiful she is in all the time I've known her. Has she always been this beautiful or have I just been careless? She slowly leans down toward me, and as her face draws close to mine, I answer my own question.

I've just been careless.

The room seems to go silent, and time seems to slow as Botan lowers her face to meet my uptilted one. I note how Botan's lips are poised in a small pucker, and I close my eyes, waiting for her to approach me. Though we're not touching, I can feel her trembling, her nervousness radiating off her body, as she slowly moves closer and closer--

"Koenma-sama!"

Na-Nani?!?

My eyes snap open at the sound of a male voice. Who--?

"Koenma-sama!"

I swear that the voice sounds like George...but, he's not here, and...

"Koenma-sama! We've got big trouble, Koenma-sama! Someone broke into our files and--"

"Nani?! Someone broke into our files?" I cry out. I suddenly realize where George's voice is coming from. It's coming from the little pocket communicator I always carry with me. Jerking away from Botan and whipping the communicator open, I snap, "I'm on my way!" Otousan is just going to kill me! I think in panic. I'm so dead! I'm so-- I freeze, suddenly remembering where I am. That's right-- Botan! I look up at her lovely face, and curse George for his lack of timing. I was so close to kissing the girl of my dreams, but now...

"Gomen ne, Botan," I tell her, "but I really have to go."

She nods, her face is grave --could that possibly be disappointment on her face?-- but her voice is understanding as she says, "Le--Let me take you back to the office, Koenma-sama."

I gaze up at her in shock. "Botan...are you sure?"

She nods vigorously. "Hai!"

I feel a warmth spread throughout my body. No wonder I love her so much...

"Ja...then, let's go, Botan."

Botan and I are in the backyard of the Minamino's residence now. The game was declared finished after Botan and I rather abruptly announced that we had to leave, and most of the others have dispersed. Botan whips out her oar from that hammerspace of hers and smiles shyly at me. "After you, Koenma-sama," she says.

"Iya, Botan, I should be going after you," I say firmly. I nod toward the oar and add with a little less authority and more softness to my voice, "Please."

She blushes a rosy red again. "Ha-hai!" She obeys and quickly sits down near the top of the oar, deliberately leaving me plenty of room to sit.

I join her, and seat myself carefully on her flying contraption - making sure I give her enough room to feel comfortable. Much to my surprise and delight though, she smiles shyly and scoots a little closer to me. I smile too, but my smile is much broader than hers, and subconsciously I wonder if I look a little foolish. I can't help it though, the fact that she actually moved closer to me of her OWN WILL is good - encouraging.

When Botan directs another shy smile at me, I quickly ammend my thought.

Make that VERY encouraging.

Does she feel the same way for me as I do for her?

"Saa, ikuzo," I say, my voice somehow coming out a bit huskier than usual.

She nods. "Hai, Koenma-sama." She wills the oar to move and slowly we lift off the ground, moving vertically upwards. As we rise, I catch the window to Kurama's second floor bathroom in the corner of my eye and I freeze.

Is that Yusuke and Keiko kissing?

Turning my head slightly so as not to alarm or draw the attention of my blue-haired companion I squint a bit, trying to get a better look. Sure enough, I see the outline of Yusuke and Keiko entwined together, Yusuke's hand reaching up to gently caress his girlfriend's cheek as the kiss visibly deepens.

This is the first time I've actually seen them showing such real romantic affection, I think, as I recall how their usual show of affection consisted more of violent malleting and yelling. This is a very unfamiliar --but incredibly sweet-- aspect of Yusuke and Keiko's relationship and as much as I like it, it does remind me of something very important. It reminds me of my failed chance with Botan.

I wonder if I'll ever get a chance to kiss her again?

Before I can fully ponder the question, Botan turns to face me and says a little tentatively, "Koenma-sama...you might want to, ano," a red flush spreads across her cheeks, "hold on to me now as we're about to, ano..." she pauses slightly, obviously at a sudden loss for words before she continues rapidly, "take off now. So, um..."

"Wakatta yo, Botan," I tell her, trying to reassure her but failing, I'm sure, as my own heart is beating so rapidly I worry about the possibility of passing out. "I'll do it with pleasure." Then, realizing what I said, I too blush.

Please tell me I didn't just say that.

Unfortunately, her deepened flush tells me that yes, I had been an idiot and said what I did and yes, she heard everything. Embarrassed, she squeaks rather incoherently, "Hai. I'm glad, Koenma-sama..." Then realizing what SHE's just said, she turns even redder than before.

I could feel the blood rushing to my ears, making them as red as the rest of my face, as I take in what she's unwittingly said.

This is like a dream come true.

Overjoyed, but yet still a little doubtful about the whole REALNESS of the situation, I decide to try one last test to see if Botan really does have feelings for me as well.

In a sudden burst of courage, I close the distance between us and peck her quickly on the lips before pulling back rapidly, my face feeling even hotter than before and my eyes darting over Botan's face as I try to gauge her reaction.

Does she...love me as well?

However, when Botan, after getting over her initial shock at the sudden kiss, buries her face into my chest with a little embarrassed but obviously happy, "Koenma-sama!", I know I have the answer as to whether Botan feels the same way for me.

She does.