Much Ado About Nothing

Disclaimer: don't own anything recognizable. Yu Yu Hakusho, Marvel, Yugioh and the Shakepearean sonnets belong to their respective creators. I'm just playing with the universes.

Author's Note: Sonnet numbers at the end of each section. On rewatching the Yu Yu Hakusho series, I've noticed how often Botan plays the Ditz, despite dealing with death, politics, police work, criminals, and other dangers that would kill a truly oblivious person. Hence, my interpretation.

My Kurama/Botan stories exist in the same universe as my Yugioh stories, with the same mythology regarding the Underworld and Afterlife. Hence the disclaimer. But don't freak; I don't pack all of that into this. Just a few references.

Chapter 1

Botan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Tokyo, Japan. Strange how no matter when she came here, it always felt the same, busy and reaching yet so impossibly small.

Still, she loved the city, loved the noise, the bustle, the dreams and voices. And one voice in particular drew her to a little café off the main street. There, in the corner of the front window, sat a young man with fair skin and long, blood-red hair. His green eyes flitted quickly over the book he held in his hands, his posture easy and relaxed despite the chaos on the other side of the glass. Botan smiled and headed inside.

"Morning, miss," the barista said from the counter. "Be right with you."

"Oh, no rush. Really." She smiled then walked towards the little two-person table. He sat with his back to the wall, of course he did, and she could imagine he heard every conversation. Heard, processed, and dismissed almost every word, like a snake filtering scents. Her smile widened when she saw the title of the book.

"'Three winters' cold,'" she quoted. "'Have from the forests shook three summers' pride, three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned, in process of the seasons have I seen.'"

He looked up, eyes brightening.

"'Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned,'" he said. "'Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green.'"

Smiling, he stood and gave her a hug.

"Good to see you, Botan."

"Hello, Kurama, I've missed you. May I?"

"Of course, please." Kurama gestured to the chair and they sat down again. "I didn't expect you until next month. Is everything all right?"

"We'll get to that in a minute. You know Shakespeare?"

Kurama smirked.

"Are you really surprised?" he asked.

"Not at all. How have you been?"

"Very well, thank you. I've been accepted into Tokyo University. Classes start in a few months."

"Congratulations! What are you studying?"

"Not sure yet. For now, I thought I'd just get the preliminaries out of the way."

"And your mother? Your family?"

"Fine." The fox tilted his head. "You're a terrible liar, Botan. What is it?"

Blinking, she blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yes, well…" She cleared her throat. "I've been transferred. Or, I'm trying to get transferred anyway. I've put in my request to be the Spirit Guardian for Mt. Mitake. Genkai's compound specifically."

"That's brilliant."

"Really?" She tried a smile. "I just thought it would be a good move since the compound's kind of turned into a crossroads."

"I think it's an excellent move. When will you know?"

"Oh, it'll be a while yet. Certainly not before the wedding but I thought I'd speak to the group and see what they thought. Do you think we could gather everyone for a quick meeting?"

"Yes, I think so. Saturday would probably work best. Do the others know you're in town?"

"No, you're the first."

His grin grew just a bit smug, eyes glinting with mischief.

"In that case," he said. "Leave it to me."

*sonnet 104