Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or anything relating to them.
This is completely different from "Unwated Thoughts sequel" by Lostsoulof Regret. But it is a sort of a continuation to "Unwanted Thoughts" by me.
She remembered asking him a question.
It wasn't anything big or something that she asked only him. She asked everyone really. Plus he wasn't the first or last person she asked. But he's answer was the only one that really stood out in her mind when she remembered all the other answers.
Do you believe in soul mates?
Sure he wasn't the kind of person that one would normally ask those types of questions to. But she wanted to know what everyone's thoughts would be about the subject. Especially his.
He was the type of person who would have the most insightful outlook on the subject because of who he was. He hardly cared for anyone but his sister and close friends, and he wasn't the romantic type. He was able to look at these kinds of things from outside the box. That is if he didn't make a snide remark first.
Then again, he didn't quite answer her question.
Botan smiled at the memory.
She remembered him saying, "Hn."
And then she pestered him just enough to get an answer out of him and not have him leave or threaten her.
"They're somewhat similar to kindred spirits."
Though the way he said it sounded more like a question. But she decided to drop the subject. It wasn't like she could get anything more out of him. But it also didn't mean that she stopped thinking about him. Even years later, he was still in her mind.
Sometimes she didn't think about him. Not that she wanted to, she just had to. After Yusuke came back to Ningenkai, she had additional jobs to not only ferry spirits, but to also help find lost souls and help pick out a new Spirit Detective. A Native American in America was being considered this time. Her added work gave her little time to think about the small fire demon roaming Makai looking for lost humans.
The only substantial things that she had of him to remember him by were his pictures. And those pictures could have been better. They were all of him facing the other way of the camera and one clipping from a newspaper that Kurama showed her. It was a very crude picture of him with his Jagan that some ningen drew, but she laughed and decided to keep the picture.
Anything of his she tried to keep. She even memorized exactly where his files were in the large storage area. And when he was pardoned for all of his criminal activities for working in the Reikai Tantei, Botan kept an extra copy of those files because she couldn't bear to have them be erased.
It was a part of Hiei. Of how he used to be and still is.
So she kept them all in a secret place where only she could find. That way, she could pretend that there was a part of him that only she held.
She also remembered other people's answers to her question. Mostly they were the same: a being that every person is meant to be with.
Botan scoffed at that. She loved Hiei's response the best. Because, to her, a soul mate is somewhat similar to a kindred spirit. It was a person who would always make sure that the other was never lonely just by being there. Just by being in the presence of them. Just by existing.
So whenever she was lonely, she would at all of the things that she gathered that had him there. Granted that it made her feel lonely still, but it was in a different way. Hiei could see her. See all her flaws and still accept her for being who she was and wanting her as she was.
Even in the future where she may darken or become even brighter, she knows that he would still give her threats, remain quiet while she is speaking, and even say mean comments or whatnot. But he'll still always make her feel like she belongs somehow.
Maybe she liked him as more than a friend.
A lot more than friend.
And she knew that it was more than a crush.
It had to be. It's been years since she last saw him.
She remembered exactly how he looked too then. He was the shortest person that she could see, yet that only made he stand out at first glance. Then there was his piercing stare and the powerful posture at which he stood. Next was his sword that he just loved to use and most likely still does. And finally, she could just see him clearly like she just saw him a few mintues ago. This is how she remembered him.
She smiled as she remembered him. She smiled even more when she felt a familiar feeling go through her as if someone was looking at her. Though she knew that if she turned around or looked in any direction, she wouldn't see anyone. The feeling of someone peering at her from another world was something that was becoming almost routine now. She smiled happily all the same.
He remembered her too.