Author’s Note: Okay! We’re almost done! Just a few more chapters to go and the Lovely Adventures of the Pretty Soldiers will come to an end. Anyway, I hope that you’ve enjoyed the last chapters and will enjoy this new installment. Please read and review!

Yu Yu Hakusho: Magical Girl Special Flower Bloom!
Chapter IX: Falling Flowering Waltz! Two Roses Clash Again!

Leaning back against the windowsill and taking a long drag from her cigarette, Shizuru looked on at the city. After exhaling a length of smoke, she murmured, “So, I’m going to assume that the rules are still the same.”

Botan sighed while munching on her snack helplessly. “Yes.”

“Because the boys are the ones who brought Aizen in, they’re credited with the win.” Keiko pouted while she ate a cookie thoughtlessly.

“Yes,” the ferry girl confirmed.

Yukina pondered for a minute and silently counted something on her slender fingers. “So that means we’re tied with the Detectives right now,” she said in surprise. “At this point, no one is winning the wager.”

Blowing out her last cloud of scented smoke, Shizuru put out the cigarette butt and closed the window. “How many more assignments will we get before the wager is done?” she asked while sitting beside Yukina.

“There should be at least one more assignment,” Botan calculated while looking through the Pretty Soldier files on a small computer. “Koenma-sama and George-san have agreed to make the bet for three demons, two souls, and however many number of attacks each team decides to launch against each other.”

The petite ice maiden nodded. “So far, the Detectives have arrested all three demons.”

“And we’ve attacked them twice and rescued one soul,” Keiko added helpfully.

“So… All we have to wait for is the one last soul?” Shizuru sighed and frowned discontentedly. “I don’t like how we’re dependent on this last bit if we want to win.”

“Basically, yes, we are waiting for this last soul. But we have to be wary since from the time until the last soul appears, the Spirit Detectives might launch an attack against us,” Botan explained. “It isn’t as simple as just waiting for the soul to appear. We must be prepared for anything at this point.”

“But we don’t have to worry about that,” Keiko grinned confidently. She patted her sky-haired friend on the back. “We have Botan on our side.”

“True,” Shizuru nodded.

“At this point, we have to keep on alert and make sure that we don’t lose any more ground. George-san needs us to win this bet,” Yukina said with a strange amount of determination. She looked to her fellow Soldiers for assurance. “Right?”

“Have you wondered what it’s going to be like when we’re no longer Pretty Soldiers?” When the younger three women stared at her, Shizuru chuckled and explained, “I’ve just been thinking, you know? Not that we’ve been Soldiers for very long, but I feel like it’s very much a part of my life now. Keeping secrets, protecting people, and having so many abilities: what it will be like to lose everything in the end?”

“Well, we have a while before we have to think about it,” Keiko laughed while refilling her teacup. “And besides, we were ourselves before we became Pretty Soldiers, so it shouldn’t be that bad of a transition.” She stared at her hot tea sadly, thinking of Yusuke. “It’ll be different for the boys, though. They’ve been Spirit Detective for years, and probably their identities really hinge on being one.”

“You’re right. It’s probably better that we escape this when we can.” Shizuru shook her head in disbelief, incredulous she had almost truly desired a troublesome and restless life of a Spirit Detective. Honestly, life was not like a comic book where heroes could do what they want or have their problems solved instantly.

“Let’s talk about happier things,” Keiko suggested while pulling her bag closer to her. She opened it and pulled something from it and showed it off to everyone. “I’m thinking about wearing this on my date. What do you all think?”

Walking down the street together hand in hand, Yusuke and Keiko said nothing to one another. With furtive glances eventually evolving to blatant stares, Yukimura tried to catch her boyfriend’s eye. Instead, all she did was see his concentrated scowl. Finally unable to take his pensive silence, she asked him, “Yusuke, why are you angry?”

He turned to her at the sound of his name. “Angry?”

“Yes.” Keiko nodded. “You’ve had that mean look on your face for the last hour now. You must be angry.”

The dark-haired young man shrugged nonchalantly. “I’m just thinking.”

Not giving up, the girlfriend pushed on, “What are you thinking about that makes you so angry?”

‘I can’t win against this girl.’ Yusuke did not know whether to be scared or proud. He could always depend on Keiko to understand him. He then confessed, “I’m just still angry about how Kurama could think that Botan would betray us.” He growled. “I can’t believe him. Really, Botan would never do anything like that. She’s always been there for us, more times than I can imagine. Whenever she can she gives us backup on our missions and does her best to look out for us in general. She should never have been doubted.”

“But you’ve already proven that Botan is innocent. Why are you still worried about it?” Keiko huffed. She released her boyfriend’s hand and crossed her arms. “You know, I’m beginning to get jealous of Botan again.”

“Eh?” As he stopped walking, Yusuke raised a brow. “Why?”

“You’re asking me why? I’m jealous because I’m your girlfriend but you spend more time talking about Botan to me than talking about us—or even me.” Keiko shook her head and released a sigh and resumed walking. Strategically she moved ahead of Yusuke. “I like Botan, Yusuke, and she’s a very good friend of mine too. I’m in her debt for all of the times she’s rescued me… But I’m human,” she sternly reminded her boyfriend.

Before she walked too far ahead, the dark-haired lad grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and pulled her back to his side. “Keiko,” he whispered while squeezing her hand in assurance, “you know that it’s not like that between me and Botan.”

Already losing the battle, she stubbornly mumbled, “Sometimes, I’m not even sure about that.”

“You know that I don’t think of her like that,” Yusuke repeated earnestly. “If anything, she’s my sister, and I’m just worried about her right now.”

“But why are you so worried?”

“I’m worried about Kurama hurting her.”

“Eh?”

“I’ve—I’ve just always felt that that Kurama really cared about Botan,” Urameshi reluctantly confessed. “He acts a little different when he’s around her versus when he’s with other people. I always thought that he had particular feelings about her, so I’m worried about what he’s up to right now. I don’t want to hand Botan over to Kurama if he’s going to be such an ass to her. He can’t even trust her right now… and I don’t want her mistreated.”

“Oh,” she said. Keiko sighed, wondering how she could argue against Yusuke’s big heart. Really, she could never win.

“But what about you?”

The young lady looked up in surprise. “Me?”

“Why have you been weird lately?”

‘Has he noticed? Does he suspect something? Could he know that I’m a Pretty Soldier?’ Testing the waters, Keiko answered his question with, “I’ve just been jealous.”

“Jealous? Again?”

“I can’t help it when I want to spend time with you!” she stressed when she saw Yusuke buying the story. “It’s just lately, you seem to be spending more time with the Pretty Soldiers than with me… and I’m sure they’re called Pretty Soldiers for a reason.” Ingeniously she narrowed her eyes as if suspicious.

“You know how I feel about you.” Yusuke kissed her affectionately on the forehead. “When we finally get these Soldiers decommissioned, there should be more time for us to date.”

At the sound of his promise, Keiko gave him her best smile. She could not help but to add somewhat awkwardly, “I wonder when that will happen.”

With her arms full of reports needing to be filed, Botan rounded the corner but stopped as two hands kept her from moving forward. She turned sideways to see who it was. “Ah, you’re finally here, Kurama-kun! Koenma-sama is waiting for you with the others in his office.” Botan smiled at him. She faltered when she saw his expressionless face. “Is there something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” was the bland response, his face never changing. He did his best to control his feelings towards Botan, knowing very well what he would do if he were to slightly relax. It took all of his patience to keep from shaking the answers out of her this very minute.

‘But that won’t do,’ the fox reminded himself. ‘I want to confirm all of this myself without anyone else meddling in my affairs.’ Not to mention, at this point in time he did not know how to react to Botan. Of course he was angry but what else? Was he happy that Pink Rose was someone that he actually knew? Or was he disappointed? Why did he feel an attraction towards Pink Rose and not Botan herself? Was she actually playing with his feelings like how she was playing with his trust? How was he supposed to act towards her?

Silently the pair entered Koenma’s office. When they met the others, Kurama wasted no time and immediately laid out his plan. “We’re going to lure the Pretty Soldiers into the open.”

“And then do what?”

“Take our chance to reveal their identities and possibly end this game.”

Efficiently and expertly Kurama explained everything that he had planned out and how each of them would execute their part to capture the four ladies. No one had anything to add, whistling in awe at Kurama’s flawless plan for capturing and revealing the Pretty Soldiers. With that, everyone instantly agreed to meet at the designated time and place and would contact the others later.

As the Spirit Detectives parted ways, Kurama turned to Botan and told her, “It would probably be best for you to stay out of this since this is a grudge match between us.” He forced a kind smile onto his face, ever hoping that his acting would not fail him. “There’s no need for you to become involved.”

“Oh… thank you.” She blushed, unsure of how to take his words. “Um, good luck, Kurama-kun.”

He nodded and left the Gate of Judgment while thinking, ‘I won’t be the one needing it, Botan.’

Hours passed, and finally the time came for everyone to meet at the edges of Genkai’s temple. Of course, as Kurama expected, the Pretty Soldiers were there waiting for them. The girls’ informant had done her job well and had the Soldiers ready for the Detectives to take.

While Yusuke and Kazuma kept the Pretty Soldiers busy according to plan, Kurama began the secret portion of his plans. Between the fighting Detectives and Soldiers, Kurama weaved between them all to get as close as possible to his rose maiden. Before anyone could notice or do anything about the situation, the redhead whisked Pink Rose far away, deep into the woods surrounding Genkai’s temple.

“Let me go!” Pink Rose demanded while struggling against her captor.

“As you wish,” he responded while tossing her to the ground.

“Aaaaaaah!” She landed on the ground with a resounding thud. As she regained her bearings, Pink Rose prepared herself to fight. “What do you want with me, Kurama-san?”

“I want you to tell me the truth.” He roughly grabbed her wrist and pulled her up against him. “I want to know why you’ve lied to me, Botan.”

“What?” She tried to pull herself from his hard grip and push her body away from his. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I know the truth, Botan,” Kurama murmured dangerously. His other hand reached to take off her mask, but Pink Rose intercepted it and harshly slapped it away.

Annoyed by her action, he grabbed her free hand and pushed her back into a tree. Pinning her wrists above her head, he obeyed his brash desires and bent down and kissed her.

This isn’t a kiss, Botan thought as her lips bruised beneath Kurama’s. Frightened of this unfamiliar Kurama, Botan struggled against him and broke away. Focusing her energy, she shouted out as loud as she could, “Rose Starbright!”

An intense light blinded Kurama, allowing the Pretty Soldier to escape. However, her opponent was two steps ahead of her. Despite his temporary blindness, he could sense her Spirit Energy and had his plants grab her before she ran too far. In less then ten seconds, Pink Rose found herself trapped against the same tree once more.

“You’re far cleverer than you let on, Botan,” Kurama chuckled half-heartedly while leaning his head against her shoulders. His emerald eyes remained closed as he waited for his sight to return.

“Why are you calling me Botan?”

Kurama slammed a fist beside her face. “Why are you lying to me?” He put an ear against her breast and carefully listened to her heart. “I’m nowhere near Yomi’s level of hearing, but I know when someone lies to me. You’re Botan, there’s no denying.”

“Kurama-san, please let me go.”

“No.”

He intertwined his fingers with hers, the botanic binds receding as his hands took over for them. Bringing their hands down, he leaned his forehead against hers and touched her nose with his. “Even though I can’t see right now, I can see you. Even though you look different, I know this face. You’re Botan.” Gently this time he dipped his head and kissed her. This time, she could feel his affection and deep feelings, all of them making her want to melt where she stood.

Of course, Kurama’s naturally mischievous nature could not help but to take advantage of the situation. Kurama pressed his lips against Pink Rose’s neck and began kissing it roughly. Again he had transformed to the frightening beast. Wrenching one of her hands free, she slapped him across the face and escaped him.

“Keep away from me!” She pointed her Rose Wand at Kurama threateningly.

“You won’t be able to escape from me this time, Botan.”

“I’m Pink Rose! Yellow Peony is back there!” She swung her wand, Romantic Rose Love Shocks bursting from it. As the balls of energy distracted the Detective, Pink Rose shifted into Spirit mode and escaped to Spirit World.

Everyone stared at the screen with wide open mouths. When someone finally found the ability to speak again, a squeaky voice managed to confess, “I can’t believe Kurama did that.”

“But what were they talking about?” they all wondered together.

“Stupid audio system!” Koenma shouted in obvious frustration. “If it weren’t for these blasted 2000-year old speakers, we could have heard what they were saying!”

“And it doesn’t help that we didn’t have subtitles either,” Hinageshi sighed with a shake of her head.

“But it’s undeniable who the victor is,” Ayame added serenely. She hoped to have everyone focus on the main point. “Kurama-san, after a bout with Pink Rose, secures a win for the Spirit Detectives, which puts the Detectives in the lead against the Soldiers at four points to three.” The senior ferry woman sighed. “With the third demon captured, the Detectives and Soldiers only have to rescue one more soul before the wager ends. But also before they retrieve the final soul, any attacks that they win on each other will be counted towards the wager. These points will be critical since they’re tied like this.”

“Ku ku ku ku!” Koenma cackled. He hopped onto the top of his desk and struck a victory pose. “I’ll be victorious yet!”

“That’s not fair, Koenma-sama!” George whined while slamming his fists onto the large desk. He managed to topple Koenma and make the prince come crashing down back into his chair. “The Pretty Soldiers haven’t lost yet! Watch and see. They’ll win, I know it.”

Pushing his hat from his face, the pacifier-sucker shouted, “Will not!”

“Will so!” the blue ogre yelled back.

“Will not!”

“Will so!”

“I’m going to see if Botan is all right,” Hinageshi whispered to Ayame while leaving the room.

Botan frowned as she pulled aside her kimono’s collar in front of her mirror. She touched her collar bone tenderly and tried to fight back her tears. Seven—seven times Kurama had kissed her roughly and left her with marks. Seven… he had left her with seven hickeys!

“How the hell am I going to hide this?” Even with her kimono on properly, someone could see a peek of red from the conservative collar’s edge. Wearing normal human clothing would be out of the question! “Even if I wore a scarf, someone would definitely notice these,” the ferry girl fretted. “And then Kurama would definitely know that I’m Pink Rose!”

If it were not for the circumstances, Botan would have been able to lie to her friends about her hickeys. She would have made up some story about her having a lover of sorts and would leave it at that. However, thanks to Kurama’s particularly annoying genius, as soon as anyone saw her hickeys, her identity would be given away.

She had not realized it then, but when Kurama had been kissing her, he had been inserting a little bit of his Spirit Energy into every mark. They would most likely react when he stood nearby, keeping her from meeting up with everyone as long as the marks remained. As it appeared, Kurama would win no matter what as he left her without any options. “Damn it!”

She leaned against her mirror and glared at her reflection.

The worst of all, Kurama had branded her with HIS mark… his seven damned kisses.

His seven kisses had marked her in the shape of a red rose.