Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of it's characters
"Hiei please don't ignore me. I really need to talk with you. After this I promise I won't bother you again about anything. So please just come down and listen to me." Botan pleaded to the demon in the tree. He was sleeping quietly when she came and just started shouting off nonsense to him. Since when did she need to talk to him of all people? Well he could esily ignore her and keep on sleeping but sadly he knew that wasn't going to happen.
"If it's so important Onna then why don't you come up here and tell me?" Botan sighed and hopped on her oar and flew next to the branch Hiei was on. She knew he wasn't going to be getting down for her news but she just had to tell him. He deserved to know about it even if afterward he would want to kill her. She didn't do anything wrong either but she knew he would want to kill her. Botan didn't mind though because this bit was worth dying for.
"Hiei I know you remember years ago when you made me make a promise about Yukina." Botan started. Hiei's eyes opened and they were flared up and glaring at her. He was already thinking she had broken her promise but technically she did nothing wrong. "Well I kept it like I promised I would...but I don't think that was enough. I never once said anything to Yukina about you being her brother. I mean I hinted it a few times but Yukina seriously had no clue what I was talking about. To what you would believe to be unfortunate luck she found out. I said nothing but she called me over to her house all happy and when I went inside she said she had finally figured out who her brother was. She said she was so happy to have you as a brother and that she knew there was some reason to why you kept it from her for so long. She didn't want to question why you did though because she doesn't want to upset you."
Hiei growled and leapt upon Botan's oar, ready to choke her when he looked her in the eyes though he froze.Her eyes were knowing and sad...but she still held a smile on her face. Yes she was technically death itself but her human shell could die yet she stared death (herself) in the face with only a smile and knowing eyes. She knew what was to come and she accepted it without pain or regret. Her eyes were telling Hiei something that he didn't quite understand but it froze him to the core. Looking her in the eyes was like she had paralyzed him; waiting for him to come upon a realization he not yet knew about.
"Kill me if you so wish. You and I both know I did nothing wrong but for this I'm willing to die an honorable death." Botan smiled a little more at him but her deep inviting eyes did not faulter. They stared back at Hiei's and kept him still. He couldn't bring himself to look away. He had never been in such a trance as this one before. In this one he had no known information about his oppenent. Obviously her weaknesses were not as they seemed and her strength wasn't what she put it out to be. The woman sitting on the oar with him was not the woman he had known all these years. She was someone else; not new but old. She was someone with knowledge and wisdom. Botan was someone who knew about things no one should know about and she took them into her heart and kept them safe. These things she knew were her valuables and she knew how to keep them safe and when to take them out.
"Die an honorable death for what?" Hiei had finally managed the will power to move his mouth but he did not look away. He barely blinked his eyes for fear he would miss something important that she wanted to show him. She smiled gently at him which only kept him still more. Her smiles along with the eyes she was holding for him now made him wonder and question anything and everything he knew about the 'baka onna.' At this moment he knew not a thing about her. Her moves were unexpected and her striking calamity toward his mind was hard. He could dodge the fastest and wittiest of all demons but her... well he could not dodge what he didn't see and what he didn't see was what lie ahead and that was her strength. For some how she knew of the future but would not give into his pleas. She wouldn't give into his need for that knowledge. She only smiled and spoke gently to him.
"I 'm willing to die an honorable death for the love between siblings and if that is how I must go then I will." Botan continued to smile and her eyes continued their silent assault on Hiei. It was true that the eyes were windows to the soul but what no one knew was that those windows could be closed and could be replaced with pretty décor to elude you from the truth. He was now seeing past the décor and into the house of the beholder and what he saw inside was what he didn't expect. Though no chaos was in her eyes Hiei could see the pain. He could see the distance that she held from everyone. It was much deeper than his own and to see that she would be willing to die for his sister's happiness much like himself surprised him.
"Do you want to go see her?" Botan calmly asked. Her eyes then looked wise and understanding. Her cheery disposition opposed the truth that her eyes told. It was a total contrast and it scared Hiei more and more but the way her eyes were like that of an old spirit that knew more than should be known forced him to sit down upon the oar and let her fly to their destination. Hiei half expected Botan to giggle and go back to normal and fly like the maniac he had known her to become but that didn't happen. She gently flew to the ice demon's home without a word said. It was a sad silence more so than not and it disturbed Hiei yet entranced him all the same. They landed quietly and Botan just stood there. He didn't know where to go but was to afriad to look Botan in the eyes again for fear he would find more than he wanted to.
"I'm not her brother Hiei. I'm not allowed in there right now. It is not my time. When you're ready you can enter into the light that you've feared so much." Botan said only loud enough for Hiei to hear. He took in a deep breath and headed up the steps to Genkai's house. He understood why she left him at the steps. She was allowing him time alone. She was letting him think and get himself ready to face his fear. She knew very well that he could use his demonic speed to get up there but she also knew that he would not. When he finally reached the last step he prepared himself and walked to the door of his light. He knocked and was greeted with the smile of Yukina. She hugged him, not saying a word but just hugged him. For a minute he was shocked but then he grasped onto Yukina like his life depended on it. He had always wished this was the way it would be but he never thought...never knew that this would come.
"Thank you Hiei...my brother." Yukina whispered to him and pulled away. She knew that there were many things that could be said but no words were needed. Hiei understood to that she knew that he needed to go back down there and that Botan was waiting for him. With one last hug they left each other for another time and Hiei slowly made his way down the steps. He could see the ferry onna's blue hair flying in the wind and started to think about the realization that she knew and he couldn't come upon. The whole way down he thought and when he reached Botan again he dared to look in her eyes. As soon as he did the realization hit him.
"She's proud of you Hiei...whether your deeds are good or bad she will always be proud of you." Botan stated and Hiei pulled himself to look away. Her oar popped out and she got on it and with one last look at Hiei she flew away. He chuckled lightly to himself. How could he have never seen it before and she did? Well she was well over a thousand years old. The information they shared between only the two of them was something that would help them both through everyday.
"Even if you can't see the future Hiei ... you can still move along." Botan, though she wasn't there, whispered into his head. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked off. He would see Yukina another day. Now though he had to think about things.
Well I'm very proud of this chapter and I hope to continue it farther. There will be another chapter and if it takes forever to update I'm sorry! I'm not good with deadlines TT