Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Murderer's Row ❯ Small Problems and Big Worries ( Chapter 2 )

[Disclaimer: I don't own YYH…WHY MUST YOU MOCK ME!!?? **runs off crying**]

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"Sorry Botan," said Yusuke, "We were running late."

"I know and I always promised you guys the first serving but I can't keep this stuff hot forever," the girl laughed, hefting a large pot of stew in her arms.

Here she was. Botan. She was the reason a lot of the inmates here haven't strung themselves up in their cells or killed each other in a mass brawl. Every other day Botan cooked for them. It was delicious. She'd experiment with all kinds of things and make the most wonderful food for them. Every time a long-term prisoner has a birthday she makes something special just for them. Every holiday she makes a feast. Every time a man gets the death sentence she makes them something special. But she wasn't just a cook she was also their emotional support. She was bright and cheerful and wormed her way into every crook's heart.

It was probably because she was that way and was still one of them. Yes, this sweet girl was a murderer. That was why she was so close to the boys at Murderer's Row. She was called the Grim Reaper by journalists everywhere. Her murders had been flawless, perfectly planned to a t. Even Kurama would have been proud to have had her brains when it came to murders. She purposely left hair at each crime scene. The police found the hair and immediately thought the case was solved but found it synthetic. She wore a different color wig at each murder. Brown, white, blonde, gray, black, short, long, curly, straight. When one day they found a blue hair they almost didn't bother to test it(who ever heard of naturally blue hair?)…except for that one intern.

Botan, surprisingly, didn't have a particularly good reason for killing. She hadn't been abused, she hadn't been illegitimate, her parents had been kind yet strict. Some say she was just a little loony. She had told the jury that Kami had made her do it, that it had been her victims' time but obviously they thought she was crazy. She was. No doubt about that.

I know what you're thinking. How could a beautiful, cheerful girl like Botan be able to survive around heartless, girl-deprived maniacs? She couldn't. She survived around her friends. The Row boys, as they were so fondly called, were as protective towards Botan as Hiei was towards Yukina times four. Yes, even the heartless pyromaniac liked the bubbly woman. Like I said, she worms her way in. Here's a good example right here.

"Hey, Baby," said an ugly car-jacker who had just been brought in from across the state last week, "How about you and I go do somethin' fun later, huh?"

Botan looked at the greasy Monkey, as the other crooks called the petty thieves, and raised an eyebrow.

"If you mean by fun you mean take a shower than yeah you should but I'll pass," her sharp tongue usually got her in trouble.

The Monkey growled and made to grab her and Botan looked a little scared but Kurama was there in a second and had the man's hand in a vice grip. Yusuke was suddenly there as well and punched the man in the gut, hard. Hiei elbowed the jacker in the back and Kuwabara threw the unconscious body over at the car-jacker table.

"Teach your buddy the rules around here, you Monkeys!!" yelled Yusuke and laughed when the lower ranking criminals bowed to the ground and begged forgiveness.

Now that I think about it, it is pretty funny.

"Stop messing around you guys! You'll get in trouble!!" said a shrill voice.

It was Keiko. She was a cook/security guard in Hudson's. She may look weak but get her mad and she has hands of steel. One slap could incapacitate the toughest of criminals. She had once made a hardened Mafia Crime Lord cry. That had been a hilarious sight, let me tell you.

"Calm down, Keiko," said Yusuke, grinning at the brunette, "You know we scare the shit outta the warden. They can't do anything to us!"

"Maybe, but what if these guys get fed up and try to get you when you're not looking? They could gang up on you!!" she persisted.

It was kind of stupid really, a relatively fragile girl telling a murderer to be careful. Ah, the irony of this kooky world.

"You insult us, woman," grunted Hiei, he made it a point to never call women by their names just because he loved pissing them off, "We could handle twice as many of these thugs, even with the bumbling oaf."

"What is with you!?" cried Kuwabara, rounding on the smaller man, "Everytime you speak it just makes me wanna kill you more!! You got a death wish, Shrimpy?!"

"You couldn't kill me if your life depended on it which doesn't mean much seeing as you're just a worthless idiot."

Kuwabara tried to make it over to the fire-starter but with that going on and a still ongoing argument between Yusuke and Keiko behind them Botan found fit to intervene.

"Who wants food?!" she cried, avoiding a crisis.

She lifted the lid off the pot and let the delectable aroma dance over to the gang, stopping all fighting in its tracks, and starting a new one for bowls and utensils.

"'Bout time, Botan! I'm starving here!" said Yusuke, drooling slightly and pushing Kuwabara out of the way.

Soon everyone (including the faculty and other crooks) had their food and were happily eating the delicious stuff. The seating arrangements are as followed: Yusuke was sitting to the left of Kurama, who sat next to Hiei, an empty chair was Hiei's company, then Botan, who was chatting with Keiko, who was simultaneously dodging food flung by Kuwabara, which was returned by Yusuke. The empty seat was normally filled either by Shizuru (unless she was busy) or Yukina (which was why it was next to Hiei and relatively far from Kuwabara). Suddenly a hush fell over the cafeteria, starting from the front entrance. The group looked over in that direction and also quieted, seeing Koenma (the warden's right hand man and a semi friend to the Row boys) walking to their table, looking troubled. They knew what this was about. It was the Butcher's Bill.

The Butcher's Bill was the name for the order to send one of the Murderers to Death Row. It happened seldom but each time stood out vividly to each person in the strange clique. Once it was Jin, another gang member. He had been known for his speed in robberies. He was like a whirlwind, here and gone with the cash in a second. One day he and his partner Touya had gotten into a bad robbery though and ended up killing three bank tellers. Jin was a really nice guy, with his funny accent and childish sense of humor. Yusuke and him and been fast friends while Touya had befriended Kurama. Jin was taken first, then Touya a year later.

The next memorable time was, instead of being a sad memory, a sigh of relief to the gang. It had been a serial bomber named Karasu who had taken a strange fascination with Kurama. The redhead hadn't taken well to his new `admirer' but even with countless thrashings from him and the rest of his friends (even Keiko and Botan had given a few sound verbal beatings) he wouldn't leave the fox alone. He had been extremely creepy and spooky and the Murderers were glad when the order came. That had been five years ago. Who was it this time?

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[YAY!!

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YAY!! It was good, ne?

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…your silence says it all…

YOU LOVED IT!! SQUEE!!]