Rakuen A Romance For A Kitsune

Last time .........

But before he knew it a tiny pink bundle was gently placed in his arms.
He wept tears of joy as he gazed at the most beautiful goddess he had ever

laid eyes on.

"Thank you Botan. Thank you!"
........

Chapter 3: Good Night My Love

The kitsune watched on as Botan darted to and fro caring for the other

babies,
wiping their noses, changing dirty diapers and holding the them up so the

visitors
could see the babies through the large glass window. She was a natural.
Kurama vaguely realized that something deep within triggered his mating

instinct.
He was a reynard, but he was also a man. He desired Botan as a man would

a woman.
Now, he also longed to make kits with her as if she where a vixen.
She was beautiful, caring, funny, a little dense at times but when things got

tough she always came through for the team. After all she seemed pretty

knowledgeable
about certain demons, spells and artifacts. The kitsune was in a hazy

daydream almost forgetting
the bundle in his arms.

*Mmmmn beautiful……. Beautiful pups with silver hair and lavender

eyes..Maybe two three or four…. yes*

He shivered inside, thinking about the small woman before him carrying his

kits.

Kurama was pulled out of his daydream when Sakura cooed. He blinked

and smiled down
at his mother's reincarnation.

"Ha! Looks like you'll get your wish mom." He whispered to her as he

kissed her
on the forehead.

Kurama smiled even wider as he realized how much she looked like
her former self save for the strawberry blonde hair.

*Hmm She must have gotten that from one of her parents.*

From across the room Botan smiled as Kurama whispered something to

Sakura and kissed
her on the forehead.

*Sigh* He'll be a great dad to our own kids someday! Waite a minute! What

am I saying
we're not even dating! Heh there's no way he could ever be interested in

me!
Oh crap! I just remembered he's a kitsune youkai, so dosen't that mean he

can tell
I like him by sniffing my scent?!*

The deity blushed a deep red.

*I gotta do something to make myself stop thinking about him "that way".*

She padded her way towards them and put on her best cheery smile to mask

her nervousness.

"Ok my turn now!"

Kurama gently got up and carefully handed Sakura to Botan. But when their

arms brushed
against each other, their eyes locked, emerald green to lavender. Botan

blushed and he
nodded. The reynard took a discrete whiff of her scent and smiled to

himself as she sat
down in the rocking chair.

*Fresh peonies….. and ah ha a touch of desire.*

True to his crafty fox nature the gears in Kurama's head already began

turning as he
went about tending to the other babies needs.

*Heh a youkai who loves! It shouldn't have been possible for such a

creature like
me, but when mom became gravely ill all doubt vanished. I was a son who

loved his mother.
But now another woman has stolen my heart and I honestly don't wish to

steal it back. My nose has
never failed me before, I now have proof of her longing for me, everything

else is
just trivial. King Enma and the whole blasted Reikai be damned!

From the far side of the room he looked fondly at his beloved with half lid

den eyes
and a smile upon his lips. He watched on as Sakura lay peacefully in Botan's

arms.


*She has given me a gift of a life time. I wonder how did she know Sakura

was my mother's
reincarnation? Should I ask? Do I even want to know?*


Just being around little Sakura triggered the deity's maternal instincts.

Almost absent
minded Botan began to sing a lullaby.

Good night, my love

Good night, my love

Good night, my love

Pleasant dreams and sleep tight my love

May tomorrow be sunny and bright

And bring you closer to me…….

And before she knew what she was doing Kurama's voice started blending

in harmoniously
with hers.

…….Before you go

There's just one thing I want to know

Is you love still warm for me

Or has it gone cold?

If you should awake

In the still of the night

Please have no fears

I'll be there

You know I care

Please give your love to me, dear

Good night, my love

Pleasant dreams and sleep tight my love

May tomorrow be sunny and bright

And bring you closer to me

Good night, my love

Good night, my love

Good night, my love

Enchanted by her voice the kitsune walked over and reached out to her

gently
brushing away strands of hair that had fallen into her lovely face. His

feather like touch
sent a warm tingle down her spine.

"I've forgotten how lovely your voice is. You should sing more often." He

said softly.

She looked up at him and winked.

"Well you're not so bad yourself! And you're a great guitarist too."

"Ah then shall I play someday for you my lady?" He said with a smirk.

Botan blinked in surprise and blushed a little.

Just then the brown haired middle aged head nurse popped her head in the

door with a
grateful smile.

"I just popped in to remind you it's getting late so you'd best be getting home

now."

"Thank you very much Ma'am" Said Botan in a cheery voice.

"Oh and thank you very much you two have been a big help."

Kurama bowed slightly and smiled.

"It was our pleasure madam."

The nurse blushed and giggled.

"Botan you should keep this one! Why if I were twenty years younger, I'd

snatch him up in a heart beat!" She said with a sly wink.

Kurama chuckled while Botan turned beet red.


**** On the way home ****

The couple decided to a take a stroll down the streets of Tokyo instead of

flying.
After all the night was still young and there was no way Kurama would let

this golden
opportunity go to waste. The fox wanted to play, so he decided to take his

vixen to a quaint little
restaurant where he and his mother used to stop by once in a while. It

wasn't far from the hospital,
just about ten blocks west of it. It was a wonderful buffet type joint called

1rst Wok.
The moon and stars lit the sky while street lamps and building lights offered

their own luminance.
People and night shift workers bustle about, some even stopping for a brief

moment to admire
the striking pair. Spicy scents from restaurants and shops perfumed the air.

Busy cars taxis
wiz by the couple. Leaves and an occasional old news paper perform a

ballet on the wind.
But unknown to them tiny little insects followed them and watched their

every move. Or more likely
they watched Botan. Human nor youkai could tell if these where real or

high tech AI spy units.
Botan shivered as a chilly breeze blew down the street, Kurama discreetly

flared his
youkai energy a little and pulled her closer to him. The deity squeaked in

surprise.



"Forgive me but you seem a little cold."

Botan looked up at him with a grateful smile.

"Thanks!"


An Inu hanyou wearing black biker clothes was sitting on top of a trash can

drinking a bottle of beer.
To most normal people he looked like some golden haired, honey color eyed

teen age foreigner.
With a leery grin he eyed Botan up and down. He let out a soft growl of

pleasure as he took a whiff of her scent.
And he had the audacity to make lewd guesters his pelvis. Poor Botan

shivered in disgust and instinctively
snuggled closer to Kurama. Of course Kurama sensed this and it annoyed

him. It annoyed him even farther knowing that
*HE* was making *HIS* companion uncomfortable. They stopped briefly.

Being the calm person he is he just glared at
the halfling and softly but sternly spoke to him.

"I'm sorry sir, but the lady is with me. And we would greatly appreciate it if

you
would not make such guesters."

Kurama discreetly flared his scent around her, there by "marking his

territory" sort to speak.
As the couple walked on the inu hanyou fell off the trash can in surprise. He

was so focused
on Botan that he didn't even notice that her "date" was a full blooded

demon. And a kitsune at that!
Kurama smirked as his demonic hearing picked up a loud thud followed by

curses and the shattering of glass.
Botan had no clue why did the scent of roses suddenly got stronger. But she

was glad that jerk backed off.

"Um Kurama what did you do to him?"

The kitsune's eyes spoke of mischief.

"No need to worry about that."

Her cheeks began to burn, a spark shot up her spine as she realized

Kurama's arm was still wrapped around her body.
The kitsune's eyes flicked gold and the tips of his red hair took on a silver

tinge.
His control almost slipped, so he closed his eyes to regain his focus.

*Damn! I almost blew my cover. But then again maybe in a more private

place….. Ah Yes I'll see how well she likes my true form.*

Botan looked at him in worry and confusion.

"Kurama are you Ok? Why did you transform like that?"

The red head opened his eyes and smiled at her as he took her hands in his

and pat them gently.

"I'm fine thank you, it's just that it's a little difficult to concentrate when in

the
presence of a beautiful onna such as your self."

At that Botan was completely and utterly floored. One had ever paid her a

compliment like that before.
Her heart was beating faster and her head swam but some how by the grace

of god she managed to stay vertical.
I mean here she was out on a beautiful night with the guy she secretly

admired who just called her beautiful.
This was all very new to her. For years she's just been "one of the guys" or

like a sister at best and sure
they all said she was pretty but they never said beautiful. Unknown to her

the sly renard began to steer her
in a particular direction.

"Well here we are!"

"What?"

Kurama led the confused girl through the door way of the restaurant.
By the door stood two golden statues. On the right was a Maneki Neko.
A typical Japanese statue of a cat with it's right paw raised to bring it's

owner
wealth and good fortune. The other one on the left side was Matrieya the

prosperity Budda.
Replete with symbols of wealth. A string of gold coins, a full belly, a load of

sweet peaches,
and an overly joyous disposition.

"I thought we where going home?"

"Oh we are, but what's the harm in getting a bite to eat first? Come on it's

my treat!"

"Oh Kur-Shuichi you don't have to pay for me. I have some money."

"No!"

"But.."

To hush her Kurama put a finger to her soft lips.

"Nonsense! A true gentlemen always pays for the lady he is with. And

besides I want to repay you for the
wonderful gift you have bestowed upon me."

"Oh really it's not..."

"Botan, I'm afraid I must insist!"

On the right side of the entrance at the cashier's desk the materdee and

restaurant owner
instantly recognized one of his best customers and rushed to greet him and

his lady friend.
The lean the middle age man was a few inches taller then "Shuichi". He was

wearing a western style
waiter's uniform complete with black tie and red comber bun.

"Ah Minamano san it is so good to see you sir! I have heard about your

mother and I am deeply sorry.
I shall miss her wonderful smile. Would like your regular table sir or would

you and the lovely lady like to sit somewhere else?"

"Well thank you very much Kuga san. The regular table will be fine."

"Very well, come this way please."

Along the way Kuga pulled "Shuichi" to the side a little and whispered to

him.

"I must say your lady friend is quite the treat."

Kurama smirked and winked.

"Yes I know! And thank you."

Botan however couldn't hear them so she just assumed they where playing

"catch up".
As she looked around she noticed that the joint was decorated in a mix of

Western and Japanese styles.
All the red and white furniture and silver wear and serving utensils where

Western. But what really
set it all off were the silk screens hand painted with red dragons, lions and

flowers. Japanese
paper lanterns also lent the atmosphere a welcoming glow. But however

that wasn't the only thing she noticed.
She recognized a few "Shuichi Minamano" "fan club" members back from

Kurama's high school days.
They were all glaring at her with envy and whispering things to each other

about her.
They were all saying things like "How the hell did that little tramp get him?

I'm way sexier then she is!"
"Just look at that ugly dress she's wearing, I bet she got it "off the rack" at

some dollar store." And
"Hmpf! I just know she died her hair!"

Poor Botan was so embarrassed she didn't know what to do. Kurama picked

up every little insult and was fuming!

*How dare they! I will not tolerate this. I think I've let this go on long

enough. I can understand this in high school but this
is absurd!*

He slowly let go of her and calmly walked over to his fan club. The women

if you can call them that,
all hushed and gaped at him in awe. They couldn't believe that their idol

actually came up to them.
He calmly but harshly whispered to them so he wouldn't make a scene. He

never let the anger he felt
show in his eyes only a look to intimidate his audience.

"Ladies I am flattered that you have admired me all these years but I'm

afraid I must ask you to please stop it.
I have found someone I care for deeply and I would appreciate it you would

kindly stop insulting her and treat her with the
respect she deserves! You must understand that Botan and I have been

through a lot and she knows me better then you.
She knows things about me that you will quite frankly never understand.

And could you please relay that message to the others? Thank you."

They all stared at him like morons, the effect turned out even better then he

planned.
With a satisfied smirk he padded over to Botan who was patiently waiting

for him at the table with her hands in her lap,looking the other way
with a depressed look. The deity nearly bolted from her seat when she felt a

strange yet familiar hand touch her
dainty chin and gently forced her to look at him. She relaxed when she

realized who it was. He frowned a little because he certainly did not like

seeing her unhappy.
In his eyes her beauty radiated when she was happy. Botan tried to hide the

pain with a smile but it faltered.

*I must make her smile and I think I have just the right trick.*

Kurama let go of her chin, reached into his hair, plucked a seed and

transformed it
into one of the finest roses he had ever produced.

"For you."

At that Botan's lavender eyes lit up. They were more beautiful then any

jewels he had ever stolen.
She was speechless, this single rose was the most gorgeous and most

fragrant ever and he had just given it to her.
He could have given it any girl, but gave it to her and she didn't understand.

"Um thanks..but why?"

Kurama chuckled.

"But why you ask? Simple! Beauty deserves to be with beauty!"

For the upteenth time that evening the deity blushed and looked away.

"Than... Thank yu you but but I'm not beau……..."

Yet again Kurama forced her to look at him.

"Botan you're wrong, very very wrong. You are beautiful, you just need to

believe it."

A tear rolled down her right cheek and naturally Kurama whipped it away

with his thumb.
She still couldn't believe it. It was like a dream. Botan found her voice but it

came out almost broken.

"Thank you."

The kitsune smiled softly at her.

"No need to be thanked. After all it's the truth. Come on let's go get our

dinner."

While the couple went about to various bars picking out their food, Kuga

politely asked
the "fan club" to leave and never come back. After all it would be bad for

business if he
allowed others to harass the "girl friend" of his best customer in his

establishment.


****Meanwhile in Makai****

In a laboratory some where deep within the scummy bowels of Makai….
A gruesome looking man with green hair and pastey stone colored skin

wearing a white lab coat sat at his desk
watching a TV screen. The transmission from the spy bugs were coming in

loud and clear. He could see and hear everything
his target did. He leaned back in his chair and scratched his chin. His

expression was evilly thoughtful.

*There is something very familiar about that girl and her companion. But

ah well my client wants her and for the handsome fee
he's paying me he shall get her. But that human male seems to be getting

close to her. I shall have bump up my schedule a bit.*

He pressed a button on his desk and contacted one of his henchmen.

"Mako get your men ready we take the girl tonight!"

"Yes sir!"

*** Back in Nigenkai at Yusuke and Keiko's house***

The Spirit detective sat on his living room couch in disbelief.
He just couldn't believe what he saw on the DVD Hinageshi showed him.

TO BE CONTINUED!