Botan hit the person with all her might, but the man didn't even flinch.

"Let me go!" Botan yelled in frustration. She studied her kidnapper carefully.

It was a man, she was sure of that. He was wearing some black clothing sort of like something a ninja would wear, she thought. He wore a hood, and a piece of cloth covered most of his face, except for his eyes.

His eyes-Botan felt a shiver of fear. His eyes were yellow in color, and they showed no emotions...

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!"Botan screamed again.

"You better shut up, if you know what's good for you," the man said coldly.

"What do you want from me?" Botan said hysterically, trying to free herself from the man's clutches.

The man got annoyed, and covered her mouth with his hand. "Shut up!" he ordered.

"I don't think that's any way to treat a woman," a deep voice said behind them.

They both turned at the sound of the voice. Botan felt a surge of hope. Somebody had come to save her!

The one who spoke was a young man, probably eighteen years of age. He had black hair, and royal blue eyes. Botan thought he looked pretty handsome, but right now, it was beside the point.

"Let the girl go!" the boy said.

"You have to fight me first," Botan's kidnapper challenged the young man.

The young boy jumped up, and appeared behind Botan's kidnapper. The latter, surprised, was not able to follow the young boy's movement.

The young man delivered a swift kick on the head of Botan's kidnapper. Startled, the hooded man dropped the blue-haired ferry girl.

Running swiftly, the boy caught Botan, and carried her to safety.

Wow, he's fast, Botan thought admiringly. He kinda reminds me of Hiei-san.

"Are you okay?" the young man asked, his blue eyes reflecting his concern.

"I'm fine, thank you," Botan said. "It's a good thing you came."

"I'm glad I was passing by," the boy said. "By the way, my name is Kawano Senkichi."

"My name is Botan," Botan said cheerfully. Senkichi smiled, and he kept running, until they arrived at a small restaurant. They went inside, so as to hide from the man who tried to kidnap her. He wouldn't dare kidnap her there, when there were so many people.

"Well, it was nice meeting you-" Botan said, then stopped. She suddenly realized that many people were staring at them.

Senkichi suddenly dropped her in surprise. "Oh, I didn't mean to hold you so long!" He laughed sheepishly, then remembered that he had dropped Botan.

She was on the floor, with a huge lump on her head. "You didn't have to drop me though," she sounded annoyed.

"Gomen," Senkichi said, and helped her up.

"So what's this? A new couple? Wait 'til Koenma-sama hears about this..." a voice piped up behind them.

Botan and Senkichi turned around. "Ayame-san!" Botan exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was looking for you," the black-haired woman replied. "You seemed pretty upset when you left. Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Botan said, avoiding Ayame's eyes. Well, she still wasn't okay, but if she told Ayame that, she'd also have to tell her about this morning's happening. And she wanted to forget about THAT.

"Well, let's go back then!" Ayame cheerfully said, and she took Botan's hand. She led the pretty blue-haired ferry girl outside. Botan waved goodbye to Senkichi, saying, "Thanks again for saving my life!"

When Senkichi was out of earshot, Ayame nudged Botan meaningfully. "Well, who was that guy? He's quite handsome, you know."

Botan then narrated to her all about Senkichi, and how he saved her life.

Koenma paced around his room nervously. Maybe he had been too hard on Botan. He shouldn't have shouted at her like that...

Why should he care, anyway? She was just an ordinary ferry girl...he sighed again. He knew very well that Botan was someone special, someone he really cared for.

She was the one person he loved so much.

He looked out the window, and saw that Ayame had returned. And-his heart gave a leap-Botan had come back, too. Hurriedly, he went outside.

"I do have admit, he is very handsome." He heard Botan say to Ayame as he arrived outside.

Wait, Koenma thought, and he stopped walking. Who are they talking about? Me? He smiled to himself. Well, I really am handsome. Of course, why wouldn't they fall for me? Hmm...didn't know I could be such a heartbreaker, oh, dear...

Idiot! A small voice inside him said. Duh, they're talking about someone else, you narcissistic baka!

Koenma snapped back to reality. If they're talking about some other guy, who could that be? Jealousy began to fill him. Does Botan like some guy or something? Grr...he better not steal Botan away from me!

As if Botan's already your girlfriend, the voice inside him said again. You can't even tell her how you felt. Imbecile! Moron! Stupid-

"SHUT UP!!!" Koenma yelled loudly. Foolish conscience! He began to strangle himself. "You don't have any right to call me names! What good are you-"

"Koenma-sama?"

Koenma turned beet-red, for he realized that Botan and Ayame were staring at him. "Uh-uh-w-well..."

"I think Koenma-sama's going insane," Botan whispered in Ayame's ear.

"I am not!" Koenma protested indignantly.

"Sure, I believe you."

"I assume you're sarcastic."

"Of course I am. After all, you did shout at me this morning, even when I didn't do anything that bad. Really, if anything's wrong, I think it would do you a whole lot of good if you confided to someone, Koenma-sama."

"Oh, Botan." Without even stopping to think, Koenma got Botan's hand. "I'm sorry I shouted at you this morning," he said earnestly. "I was just in a bad mood. Will you be able to forgive me?" He clasped Botan's hand lovingly.

Botan blushed, fully aware of the fact that Koenma was holding her hand. "Oh, um, it-it's okay, K-Koenma-s-sama," she stammered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, it's okay," Botan assured him. She laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I'm sorry, too, for all the things I said earlier. Really, why should you care so much?"

Koenma reddened slightly. "Uh...oh?" he said vaguely. "It's because-because..."Say it, you moron! But he just couldn't say it to her. I like you, Botan...a lot, he thought, yet no words came out.

"Uh...well, I gotta go!" he said evasively, and left the two girls staring after him.

Botan stared after him. What was that? She thought, confused.

"You two sure seemed really seemed sweet back there," Ayame commented.

Botan turned around, suddenly remembering that Ayame was still standing beside her.

"Oh, Ayame-san," Botan said. "I know very well that Koenma likes you, and-"

"Koenma likes ME?!" Ayame interrupted, looking surprised.

"Of course! You had a date once, remember?"

"Oh, but YOU were the one who set us up," Ayame objected. "Koenma-sama wouldn't have asked me out on his own."

"Sure, but..." Botan tried to say something, but couldn't. Ayame was right; she WAS the one who took Koenma and Ayame for "a night in the town", just a few weeks ago. She then left the two of them in a restaurant, where the two had their date.

She didn't know what possessed her to do that. She knew very well that she had feelings for Koenma, but why should she set him up on a date with someone else? Maybe she just wanted to forget about what she felt for Koenma, for she knew that he barely knew she existed. Or if he did, he probably thought of her as just "one of those ferry girls".

"Botan, um, actually..." Ayame began. "We didn't have any romantic relationship whatsoever. All we did on that 'date' of ours was talk about you."

"Me?" Botan stared at Ayame. "You're lying!"

Ayame shook her head. "I'm telling the truth."

Botan still could not believe it. "But," she protested. "Shouldn't you have felt offended? I mean, he went on a date with you, and you only talked about me, and-"

"Iie, Botan," Ayame countered. "I know very well that Koenma likes you. Sheesh, I had known that for centuries! Besides, I love someone else." She blushed slightly.

"Someone else?" Botan fell thinking. Who could that guy be? If it's wasn't Koenma, then it could only be... "I know! You like George the oni!!!"

Ayame facefaulted, and bonked Botan in the head. "NO, YOU DUMMY!!!" she yelled.

She turned serious. "Anyway, Koenma really likes you, and I'm pretty sure you have feelings for him, too."

Botan's cheeks went pink. "But still...who was that person were talking about? I mean, the one you liked?"

"Don't try to change the topic," Ayame said good-naturedly. "Besides, it's not really important to know who he is. What we are talking about right now is about you and Koenma. Admit it, you like him!

Botan blushed further. "Well...yes," she finally admitted.

Ayame smiled, and began to walk away. "That's good. You know what? I think you two were meant for each other. Besides, maybe you can help him forget."

Botan puzzled over Ayame's cryptic words. Forget about what?