Chapter 5
"Hey..." Botan poked him lightly on the side.
Still no reaction.
"You've been staring at the dark sky for hours now. There's not even a star
in sight!"
Koenma remained silent.
"Ko-en-ma," she snapped her fingers in front of him.
Koenma didn't even blink.
Botan sighed. <He's in a trance. This is bad...> She bit her lip and
slapped him as hard as she could.
His head snapped to one side and he stumbled backward. Botan flinched.
"Good grief, Botan! What's wrong with you?!" Koenma thundered. <No
wonder Yusuke surrenders to Keiko's slap!> "That hurts!" he rubbed
his aching jaw.
"I'm sorry... it's just that you look like you've fallen into a trance and
it scared me and..."
"Hey.. shhh. It's okay," he gave her a weak smile. "How long have
we been here?"
"About two hours."
<Two hours?!> No wonder Botan was freaked out.
"What happened at the meeting?"
"They haven't announced it yet?"
"No. They're probably waiting for you to say something..."
He sighed.
"Well? They didn't---"
"No," he gave her a small smile, "I'm now in charge of
Reikai..."
"THAT'S GREAT!" he nearly fell backwards as Botan threw herself into
his arms in a tight hug.
He laughed. Her happiness is contagious. He twirled her around.
Their laughter died down and Koenma found himself gazing at Botan's purple eyes.
His heartbeat picked up. She's so close to him now. If he tilt his face a
bit...he'd already be kissing her...
"Ko--Koenma-sama?" George appeared at the entrance to the balcony.
The moment was broken. Koenma placed Botan down and turned to a very nervous
George.
"Ah...Koenma-sama?"
"WHAT?!"
"Som--someone's here to see you---"
"Tell them to go back tomorrow! I don't take visitors at this time!"
"I--I told her that---"
His eyebrow arched up.
"She said she's your fiancee, Koenma-sama," George blurted out.
His heart froze.
He looked at Botan, the shock on her face disappeared so quickly it seems like
it was never even there.
~~~
Koenma entered his office and found a young woman sitting there with her back to
him. At the sound of his approaching footsteps, she stood up and faced him.
She's beautiful. With long white-blond hair and clear blue eyes. She gave him a
smile, showing perfectly white teeth. Her eyes shone with intelligence.
"Koenma-sama," she gave a small bow.
"Sakura-san," he bowed back.
Sakura. His soon to be wife.
"How was your trip?" he asked as he led her back to her seat.
"Quite well, thank you. We got here a lot earlier than expected."
"Yes. I was expecting your arrival tomorrow. I already have someone
preparing your room for you."
"Thanks," she flashed him another smile that could melt ice.
Botan entered the room, quietly, holding a tray with tea and some finger food.
She place the tray at the center of the table and began pouring their tea. He
tried to catch her eye but she pointedly ignored him.
"Anything else, Koenma-sama?" she sounded so...formal. Too formal.
It made him queasy.
"No. Thank you," he said, softly, still trying to lock gazes with her.
Botan nodded stiffly at him, flashed Sakura a friendly smile then left.
"She seems nice. A ferrygirl?"
"Yes. How'd you guess?"
"It's part of the training. I guess," she said.
They eat in silence.
Koenma drank the tea barely noticing the scalding liquid burn down his throat.
After they finished, he quickly got up. "I'll show you to your room."
"Thanks," she grinned. "They didn't tell me you were the quiet
type."
"I'm not really 'the quiet type'. I'm still get used to this idea," he
said. "I wasn't expecting this, at least not for the next two centuries or
so."
"You're not the only one," Sakura said. "Honestly, I'm still
nervous."
"Don't be," he gave her a smile to make her more at ease. He opened
the door for her, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Ja ne."
Sakura closed the door and Koenma leaned against the wall. <What am I going
to do now?>