“Understandable. Goodnight Botan.” Kurama said as she stood and took her leave. He had forgotten how much new information she had to process from school; adding on to that with more discussion of what it means to be a combatant might only lull her to sleep faster from disinterest. It was ideal that she get enough rest for additional lessons tomorrow, as well as the possible drama that might develop from a variety of their peers. For him, who was used to the weight of homework assignments and already had strong studying habits, he lacked the same pressure she was now under. Maintaining two different lives wasn’t going to be easy, but as long as he was with her he would do his best to keep her spirits high.
After what Shiori had confessed to the both of them tonight, Kurama, who had already dressed for bed, lay atop his mattress and stared at the ceiling with his spirits lowered. In a short amount of time, Botan had appreciated Shiori’s kind heart and good will. Shiori herself had taken a good deal of interest in the newcomer, having continued to scout out the possibility that her Shuichi might find a nice girl, one who valued him as he deserved to be. Kurama had known of the strain it would cause the students when it came to the string of suicides. What he underestimated was the dread of parents just like her, who had to go on living without the children they had put all their love and care into for most of their lives. Shiori was fearful that they might be next. What he feared was that there would actually be a ‘next’.
His confidence wasn’t lacking when it came to solving this mystery, but just knowing that his mother felt that way had hurt him, too. He had forced his eyes shut and turned over in his bed, hoping that Botan’s descent into sleep was far easier than his own. At some point, he had at last found the slumber he desperately needed, and the worries of tonight were put to rest along with him.
The next morning progressed as usual, only he did not leave home without offering Shiori a hug that was even firmer than usual. Wishing her a good day as she did him, he left home and made it to school holding Botan’s hand just as he did yesterday morning. The day had passed without incident, albeit there were still the longing and envious stares directed at the new couple during lunch and their study periods. With the final bell dismissing students for the day, those that remained had headed to their respective clubs. That left Botan and Kurama to tend to the greenhouse, a club unpopular and considered boring, something he was thankful for.
Arriving inside it beside her, Kurama was relieved to find that a majority of the finer, rarer plants had survived his absence without death by negligence. To him, the vibrant variety of colors were a common sight, but to Botan they were new and exciting. She wasted no time exploring the area while he reached for his empty pail. Leaving to fill it from a convenient spigot outside, he had returned to find her examining the remains of a dead rose. “It’s unfortunate, but the necessity of training for the tournament had outweighed any need to have someone take care of this place in my absence.” Kurama said. He had begun to move down the aisles farthest from Botan, carefully dousing the beautiful flowers with a refreshing shower of water.
When Botan had called for his attention, Kurama had only been halfway down the first before giving pause. He looked over his shoulder, eyes landing on the bush that once contained dead or dying roses, dull in color, now a radiant sapphire. His eyes widened slightly at the sight. He would have remembered a bush full of them, but there were none like them—none at all—until Botan had entered. She came to him, holding one in her hand and taking in its scent as though it couldn’t possibly be real. Before he had taken it from her by her offering, one look and inhale of its scent had confirmed its authenticity.
Botan had given life to what was nearly dead. The irony wasn’t lost on him; a reaper, giving life rather than taking it? For the first time since he had arrived at school, a smile had formed. In his hands he could feel the remnants of Botan’s spirit energy through the small veins of the rose, even as it slowly deteriorated. His eyes watched as the radiance of the flower had begun to vanish. It was not by his own spirit energy that this flower found its life restored. It was Botan’s alone. As a test, Kurama had channeled his own spirit energy into the rose only to find that its blue color had made way for his deep and familiar red.
‘So it’s truly based on one’s spirit energy. In my hands it’s nothing more than an ordinary-colored rose, but in hers…’ Kurama handed it back to Botan’s hand and witnessed his theory come true. Only in Botan’s hands did the rose find its new color once again. Botan had come to the same conclusion and had gone a step further, exploring the possibility that a tool such as that rose could help channel some of her healing ability. “Kuwabara utilized a tool to maintain his Spirit Sword in the past. It’s quite possible this sapphire rose could do for your powers what Kuwabara’s tool had done for him.” Kurama said with a nod.
Taking a glance at the bush Botan had poured additional energy into, he could see the brilliance of them begin to fade from her absence. The reaper lacked the spiritual reserves, and the strength, to maintain the health of the rest for long periods of time with her absence. “Your spiritual energy is unique. Whether that’s because of your true identity as a reaper or simply because of who you are, I don’t know,” he admitted, bringing his right fist to rest beneath his chin in thought. “What I do know is that we can definitely look into you using that rose to help channel your powers. Yusuke has his fingers and fists. Kuwabara has his sword. I have my plants. Now you have a tool of your very own.”
Without sufficient knowledge of Botan’s healing capabilities, it would be hard to consider all the possible ways she could use that rose to a complete advantage. This was a strong start to helping her learn how to wield her energy in new and helpful ways, even more than he could have hoped.
“You need to build up your stamina. Gym will help you physically. After school ends, this place will be ideal in helping you practice manipulating your healing powers,” Kurama didn’t wish to bore her with his theories and strategies, so he chose to end the topic there and give her the reins of the conversation. Taking the pail in hand again, he offered one pleased glance at Botan and the sapphire rose in hand before returning to watering the plants of the greenhouse.
Taka
Dane
erikh