"Congratulations, Keiko-chan!" Botan gleefully shouted as she, Shizuru and Yukina helped Keiko dress up. It was the day that she and Yusuke would finally be married!
"Thank you, Botan-chan. I'm so excited!" Keiko replied as gleeful as the other. She almost jumped up, but Shizuru stopped her from doing so.
"Yeah, you may be very excited about it, but you've got to stay still" she ordered, clutching another bunch of Keiko's hair in a bun. Keiko winced in pain as Shizuru apologized about it.
"I wish the two of you luck, Keiko-san" Yukina said with a smile. Suddenly, the door opened.
"Keiko, dear, we must be leaving by now" Mrs. Yukimura, Keiko's mother called to them. Shizuru nodded and put on the finishing touches onto Keiko. They all smiled at each other, Keiko looked stunning in her wedding kimono.
"Hurry it up, Kurama, I'm running late!" Yusuke complained like a child as Kurama fixed his hair.
"We will be if you keep on struggling like what you're doing now" Kurama's irritated voice said back. With a comb between his lips, he rubbed the gel in his hands and on to Yusuke's hair. He then reached for the comb and fixed his hair in it's usual but more elegant way.
"This is your lucky day, Urameshi" Kuwabara commented from the back. Yusuke grinned at him in reply throught he mirror. "I wonder when mine will be?" he asked, picturing him and Yukina on that isle. Hiei just winced at him from the corner of the room. Koenma just eyed him in amusement.
"Okay, done!" Kurama announced as he washed his hands off the gel. Yusuke stood up and eyed himself at the mirror.
"Not bad, you're good at this kitsune" he said. Kurama just lifted a brow, rolled his eyes and he shook his head.
"I guess we're going then" Kuwabara said and jumped up. So did Hiei. And Koenma, who was sitting silently beside Kuwabara. Kurama came out of the bathroom with a towel in his hands. The four then nodded and walked out the door.
The wedding turned out nicely. Though he seldomly does, Yusuke, together with the other three guys arrived just in time. This time, they were having fun in the party. They were all sitted in one, big, round table with the newly weds seated beside each other.
"How does it feel to be Mrs. Urameshi?" Shizuru asked her friend. Keiko giggled in reply.
"Feels strange actually, but it's great" she answered. Yusuke grinned at her answer.
"It should be, it's my surname you're using now" he said. Then, Atsuko, Yusuke's mother, together with Keiko's asked the two to entertain the guests. Yusuke and Keiko nodded and followed them.
Kuwabara laughed.
"I can't wait for my very own wedding. It'll be three times more better than Yusuke's" he laughed, putting an arm around Yukina. Hiei stood up, can't help but get enough of the big carrot-headed guy flirting with his sister.
"What the hell are you saying there, baka?!" he asked, almost shouting. Kuwabara eyed him with annoyance.
"Look here you little twit with the flame dragon, I know you like Yukina but there's no use getting her away from me" still, Kuwabara's knowledge about Hiei's relationship with Yukina was still vague. He stood up and faced Hiei.
"What?!" Hiei asked, more annoyed than usual. Lightning striked between the two, as the others and most of the guests eyed them with amusement. Kurama pulled Hiei's arm down, sitting the little fire demon beside him.
"Don't start, Hiei" he ordered to him in a low voice. Hiei winced and just sat down. Kuwabara did as well.
"How about you, Shizuru-chan, do you think you'll get something like this?" Botan asked the girl across her from the table. Shizuru just shrugged.
"I don't know about it just yet. But I think you would get a better wedding, Botan-chan" Shizuru answered with a wink. Botan blushed and started fantasizing her own when Kuwabara interrupted her thoughts.
"You've got to be kidding! Botan? The girl with the oar in a wedding dress? That's got to be a sight to behold! No one would be dumb enough to fall in love and marry you" he said laughing his heart out.
"Let me just remind you that you were the dumb guy who fell in love with her before you met Yukina and...I don't see anything wrong wi---Botan-chan!" Shizuru panicked as Botan pounced on her brother and started pounding him.
"Baka! How dare you say those things!" Botan shouted as she continued pounding the hell out of Kuwabara. The others looked at them and just laughed.
After the party, Kurama volunteered to stay behind and help on cleaning up. Both families thanked him for it. After celaning up, Kurama decided to stay a little bit more. He walked towards the balcony as he saw something behind its curtains. He looked closely and Botan's slender form came into view. She was still in her kimono from the wedding with a coat, which Kurama for sure knew was Koenma's, around her. He decided to walk towards her.
"Botan-san, what are you still doing here? I thought you and Koenma left already" Kurama asked as he took more steps towards her. He was greeted by a smile from the deity.
"I asked Koenma-sama if I could stay a little longer. He also lent me his coat, it is real cold around here" she said as she looked up again. Kurama leaned on the balcony and watched the stars with her. Kurama then stole a glance of her, can't help but notice that something was wrong.
"Daijoubu ka, Botan-san?" he asked her. Botan looked at him for a moment and sighed.
"I was just thinking, Kurama-san, about...what Kuwa-chan said a while ago. It bothers me, I just didn't show it" she told him. Kurama quickly understood. It was probably the comment Kuwabara gave a while ago about Botan having the same thing as Keiko and Yusuke's. His eyes turned thoughtful all of a sudden. "You think what he said was true? That no one would ever fall in love with me?" she asked him with sad, wet eyes. Kurama looked at her with a smile and shook his head.
"Of course not, Botan, any guy would fall in love with you" he answered. This made Botan smile a bit, but the smile faded as time fell. She sighed again and shook her head.
"No, Kuwabara-kun is right, no one would be dumb enough to fall in love with me. Even if they would, once they knew who I really am, the deity of death who takes lives from people, they would eventually reject me" she said sadly. "And, I don't have the right to be loved"
"Why not?" Kurama asked her thoughtfully.
"For one thing, I could never be as good as Keiko-chan, or even Shizuru. I feel so small whenever I'm around them, at least they know something. And, I take lives and happiness from people, being hated is just a punishment for me" she replied.
"But...Keiko, Shizuru, Yukina...we all love you" he told her, trying hard to cheer her up. Botan smiled.
"That's different, we're all friends. What I'm looking for is not something like that. Of course, I love all of you as well, but what I'm looking for is someone like Yusuke for Keiko" she explained.
"Koenma?" Kurama asked her. Botan still shook her head.
"No, he's just my master for one. And after all, I like him for someone else" she replied. Kurama nodded his head slowly. For one thing, he couldn't follow what Botan was really looking for.
"How about you Kurama-san? You told me that any guy would fall in love with me, right? Then, do you think you would love me someday? A different kind of love, like that of Yusuke and Keiko's" she asked him with a stabbing stare that Kurama couldn't refuse. His eyes fell soft all of a sudden. He took her in his arms and hugged her tight.
"I already have" he answered. Botan widened her eyes at what she heard.
"Wha---what do you mean, Kurama-sa---?"
"Just call me Kurama, it feels cold and too forml to me for you to call me 'Kurama-san'" he told her with a smile. "And, I've been in love with you for a long time now, Botan, and...I was just scared that you would just laugh at me. But now seems the perfect time for me to say this to you" he confessed as he eyed Botan's surprised expression. He smiled at her again and pulled her to a kiss. Botan felt his question in that kiss, as if asking her to believe him. Botan can't help it, she was falling for the kitsune. But still, doubt floods through her as she tried so hard to push him away. Kurama was hurt, but he tried hard not to show it. Instead, he watched her back away a little from him, out of his reach.
"Botan-chan?" he asked, walking slowly towards her. Kurama then saw her shoulders shake, as if she was crying. She had her head facing the ground with her hands covering her face.
"Kurama, please, I don't know if what you said was true or not, I don't want to get my hopes up. I've been hurt for so long, I don't know if I could stand another pain inside me" she said, sobbing at every phrase. She backed off more, leaning herself on the balcony's rails as she looked for support for her body. She couldn't stand up, she couldn't take it. No more. No more pain would go through her just because of her trusting a youko thief. A once heartless youko, what difference would it make if he's human now? He would just probably take her heart into his hands and crush it mercilessly after he gained her trust. It scared her a lot. Kurama walked up to her and held her tightly once again.
"Please believe me, Botan, aishiteru"
"No! Please don't tell me that! I know you're just trying to help me get rid of the sadness and despare that I'm feeling right now, but you'll just add it up if you kept pushing it!" she shouted angrily as she tried to struggle from Kurama's hold. Kurama looked at her thoughtfully, and just held her tighter.
"Please, Botan-chan" he begged. "Believe me, I wouldn't lie to you. Do you think that I'm going to tell you this if I know it will just cause you more pain than this?" he asked her. Botan thought about it for a while. A long silent pause filled their world, a defeaning silence that neither of them welcomed nor rejected. Botan finally stopped struggling and just held unto Kurama. She was sure of it now, no matter what happens, she can't take him away. He had been so kind and nice towards her, it was a sin to reject him. She cried at his chest, her sobs forcing themselves through Kurama's heart. Kurama cupped her face in his hands and kissed her a second time. Botan didn't try to refuse this time, she let herself be taken away by the kitsune. Kurama deepened the kiss and and hugged her tight.
"I'm going to try once again...I love you, Botan" he told her. Botan stopped the tears from falling as she smiled on Kurama's shoulder.
"I...I love you too, Kurama" she answered his silent request and placed her head on his shoulder. Kurama's face lit up as he hugged her tighter. He then pulled away and carried her up the balcony.
"Would you like to watch the stars with me tonight for a little while?" he asked her. Botan smiled and leaned her back against Kurama. Kurama held her as the two of them watched the skies above.
~owari~
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