Chapter 8: Eternally Bound
Koenma watched as Botan created a thorny whip out of thin air and used it to block Kurama's own rose whip. He sighed. He had to admit it… he had lost his chance with his best ferry girl. It had already been a week since the truth about Botan and Kurama's past was revealed to all of them and along with that was her transformation into a full blooded youkai. To their surprise, when she finally appeared before all of them after one night of agony, she looked like the kitsune's female counterpart which only enhanced her beauty that even Hiei had a hard time looking away from her lithe form.
Letting the vine wrap itself to her body, Koenma watched as her hand swept out gracefully and motioned the whip to deflect the rose whip that Kurama swept out in her direction. Her azure locks now falling way past her waist to her slender thighs, it was tinged with silver tones as well as the fluffy ears on top of her head, the tail that swished behind her was silver and cascaded down her back to look as if it was a part of her hair. As she turned to face the kitsune, her eyes, former amethyst orbs, now as a youkai her amethyst orbs was tinged with silver tones, and it twinkled in mirth as she tried to avoid the whip that the kitsune was throwing in her direction, but as she jumped away from the vine, she laughed out loud when the red-haired teen grabbed her from the back and nuzzled her neck.
The reikai prince sighed and left the couple alone and bumped into Ayame, capturing the ferry girl in his arms before she fell down on the floor, Koenma noticed the slight color on her cheeks as she righted herself. "Gomen, Koenma-sama…"
Topaz orbs looked back at the corner where Botan and Kurama's laughing voices could be heard and sighed and focused his attention to the ferry girl before him. "Yes, Ayame?"
Ayame bit the inside of her lower lip as she watched Koenma look back wistfully to the side where Botan's voices could be heard and sighed mentally. Koenma-sama… what do I have to do for you to notice me? Pushing her sad thoughts to the back of her mind, she bowed down in respect to the reikai prince before delivering her message. "Koenma-sama, your presence is requested back at Reikai." She whispered softly.
Koenma watched the ferry girl before him closely and nodded. "Alright Ayame, let's go."
Stretching her arms above her head, Botan purred softly and warms arms wrapped themselves around her. Twisting in her lover's arms, she grinned playfully up at him and tugged at his blood red hair and pouted slightly. "I miss the fluffy foxy ears…" she whispered softly. Kurama's emerald green gaze twinkled mischievously before he grinned at her rakishly, "Who said you can't have both?" he murmured before reverting back into his youkai form, in a few moments, the ferry girl was looking up to a pair of gleaming amber orbs. Gaping at his silvery form, Botan giggled before reaching up with her own clawed hands and scratched the ears on top of his head as Kurama in turn lowered his head and nuzzled her neck.
Sighing in content, Botan closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms and snuggled contently in his arms even as he swept her off her feet and settled himself on the wooden porch of Genkai's place with her on his lap, his arms wrapped possessively around her. Clawed hands combed through her azure toned silver tresses as her own fingers deftly played with his own silvery strands. "Somehow… I guess I remembered you…" she whispered, when Kurama tilted her head to look up at him, she smiled softly before leaning her head on the crook of his shoulder. "When I first saw you during your fight with Karasu… when you transformed into Youko… deep in my heart, I know that something binds me to you… but I just didn't know what…" she sighed sadly, "Why didn't you tell me?" cupping his face with her hands, she held his face to have him look at her, "Why?"
Kurama gritted his teeth as he looked down at her, for a long time, he knew that she was going to ask that question, especially now that she had regained all of her memories, he sighed and closed his eyes, letting his head rest on top of hers. "It had been so long… I had never thought to see you again, and then I turned into a ningen, I completely forgot about you… till I saw you once again. When I first laid my eyes on you, you we're with Yusuke, and you were in your ningen form… I barely detected your reiki… I thought that it wasn't you, but when I saw you trying to heal Keiko during that time with Hiei, I finally knew that it was really you. Your reiki washed over me and your scent, it was still the same…never changed… still that sweet sakura scent…" he whispered sadly, "Why I didn't tell you back then?" his arms tightened around her and she knew how hard it was to tell this to her, Kurama "I was afraid. Even though I've heard that youkairenji's revert into the form which is more powerful to them after the death of their ningen body, I was still afraid to hope that it was you, and all this time, to know that you didn't have any memories whatsoever, I knew I had to wait for the right time because I knew that I might scare you away if I forced myself and your memories on you…" he then growled low in his throat. "Do you know how hard it is to hold myself back, every time you smiled at Yusuke or Kuwabara… especially Koenma, do you know how hard it is to hold back, when I know that you truly belong to me, and the smiles that you give to them should belong to me?"
Botan shook her head, "Baka kitsune! They were my friends, what do you expect?!"
He looked down at her, "You belong to me. Body and soul, Botan… I won't have you leave me again."
The ferry girl merely shook her head at him, her eyes twinkling. "Baka…" looking at the forest ahead of them, she sighed again. "What happens now? I'm still officially connected to Reikai, and you still have your ningen life…"
The silver haired youko merely shook his head, "Iie, We'll work something out. Now that I have you, there's no way in three worlds that I would have you separated from me." Lifting his head from her's Kurama turned his head and met topaz orbs, he looked at Koenma and waited for the reikai prince to speak.
"Reikai has made it's decision."
"Botan hurry, you'll be late!"
Stopping before her new mother, Botan paused to give her a peck on the cheek before hurrying to meet with her fiancée who was waiting outside holding their bags. Holding his hand when she came to him, she grinned back to her and dashed around the corner before they became late for school. Shiori watched as her daughter-in-law disappeared with her son before coming back inside the house with a smile on her face as she remembered how the young lady had come into their household, almost two months ago…
Shiori stood up from the couch when she heard the door open and heard the low voice of her son "Come on… it's going to be alright…" her eyes widened when she heard the voice of a girl followed his in response, "Demo…", "Trust me…." Rounding the corner, she smiled as she watched her son trying to usher the blue haired girl she had known before as one of Suuichi's friends, "Tadaima, Shuuichi-chan. Good evening Botan-chan…." She smiled when the girl colored brightly under her gaze, straightened herself and bowed before her in response.
"Anou… good evening, Shiori-san…" she whispered as Suuichi came forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"Okaasan… is Suu-chan and 'tousan in?"
Shiori nodded and moved back to allow her son and his guest to come inside the house. "They're in the living room…" she told him as she went directly to the kitchen to fix some snacks for her son's guest. Just before she turned into the kitchen, she allowed herself to look back and watch as her son's friend bow proprietarily to her husband and son before sitting down on the couch. Smiling as she fixed the snacks, she knew that Suuichi cared deeply for his pretty blue haired friend, and as she brought the food back to the living room, she wished deep in her heart, that the perky young lady would be the one that would hold her son's heart.
As Suuichi talked with his father, she watched as the girl grin from ear to ear as she talked with her other son. When she came back in with the food, Suuichi smiled at her and sat beside Botan, both looked at each other, before the girl looked down on floor as she fiddled with the edge of her school ribbon, her cheeks colored brightly as her son looked directly at them.
"Anou… 'kaasan, 'tousan… I know that you know Botan-chan here as one of my friends…"
Shiori nodded with her husband, "She goes to that other school with two more of your friends, right? Yusuke and Kuwabara, I think…" she answered and watched as Botan looked up at her and nodded, smiling brightly at her. Her heart beat frantically as she watched her son, Could it be?
"I'll be marrying her as soon as we graduate from high school."
Shiori blinked at her son's announcement and saw that he was determined and his decision was final. Smiling happily, she looked at her husband who merely chuckled and nodded. "Well, it seems that you've already decided about this. I guess there's no reason for us to object, ne, Shiori?" She smiled at her husband and stood up and wrapped her arms around the young girl who was still blushing brightly. "Welcome to the family, Botan-chan…"
Suuichi grinned at his older brother, "Does this mean that Botan-san is going to stay with us?"
The older Shuuichi flushed a bit and looked at his parents, "Well… that's one more thing…"
In the end, Botan was firmly installed in the Minamino household until she and Shuuichi got married and got a place for them to stay for themselves, especially after Kurama gave them a very edited version of her life by saying that she had lost her family at an early age and that she stayed with her grandmother in the province before she just recently passed away, leaving her all alone.
Shiori smiled as she remembered one incident when she caught Botan call her son a different name, which prompted her to ask the young lady. Botan merely smiled brightly up at her and said that it was going to be very confusing to call both as Suuichi since there were two of them in the same household with the same name, so she decided to call her fiancée a nickname that would make it easier to her to determine one from the other when calling them. She looked at her son who merely chuckled and said that it was the name that his close friends call him… and so it was stuck to the Minamino household as well, they rarely call him Suuichi now… just Kurama.
She smiled at the fresh roses placed in the middle of the living room, life in the Minamino household had become much happier than it had ever been, and the young woman that her son brought home was the reason for it. I'm so happy for you Suuichi… I know you've spent all your life waiting for the right girl… and now, you've finally found the other half of your heat and soul.
Kurama smiled down at his fiancee, "Are you sure you're not going to miss your life as a ferry girl?" he asked her as they walked towards his school where he had her enrolled as one of his classmates.
Botan merely smiled up at him, "Iie… life would go on without me. I'm just happy that I've been given another chance at life by Koenma-sama and Enma-dioh, and to have that chance to be with you once again."
The fox incarnate grinned down at her and looked around them and noticed that they were alone, tugging her hand towards him, he cupped her nape and kissed her deeply. "And with me you'll stay forever." He whispered on her lips before he kissed her deeply again.
"I know… I'm eternally bound to you, my dear youko…"
Koenma smiled as he watched as two kiss again and shook his head and shut his monitor. Beside him, he watched as Ayame grinned at him, "Spying again on them, Koenma-sama?"
The reikai prince merely chuckled, "Iie, I was just checking how she was doing with her new life now."
Ayame tilted her head at him, "Are you sure that's what you're doing?" she teased him
Koenma merely chuckled, "I admit that at first I was loathe to let her leave, but now looking at them, makes me realize that she does deserve to be with him. She needs this chance of happiness again, I'm just lucky that my father made the decision to let her stay in Ningenkai as a ningen and later on in their life, after they leave their ningen bodies, for them to stay together in Makai… after all, she does after all hold youkai blood in her veins."
The ferry gild smiled at him, "Reikai of course could not put it past them of her unwavering loyalty and the time that she had placed her life on the line for her sworn duties here…"
The prince smiled at that and nodded, "Of course, I'll have to admit that I will miss her. I was really fond of her…"
"And what about now, my lord?"
Topaz eyes twinkled, "She will be forever be in memory, but now, I only see her as me friend… after all I do have my future queen with me, what more can I ask?"
Ayame grinned at him. "Good answer." She chuckled before flowing into his arms and kissed him.
-Owari-
AN:
Hello minna!! Well here we go! The final chapter to Eternally Bound!! Yesh!! After a long time! I've finally finished this yesh!! Hahahaha!! Hope you guys like this story! To those who have reviewed, thank you very much!! This story has been in my head for a long time now and I'm so happy to have it on print now! Hahaha!! Again, thank you to those who reviewed!
Kurama and Botan forever!!
Aoi-chan