This is my first Yu Yu Hakusho fanfiction so be gentle, please. I would definitely love some positive input though. There's no way to get better as a writer without knowing what other people think. Please, read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

Life is eternal, and love is immortal,

And death is only a horizon;

And a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.

-Rossiter Worthington Raymond

The clock at the end of the hallway chimed three in the morning.

Bleary eyes peered about at the shadowed outlines of furniture along the bedroom walls. Her eyelids drooped closed for a moment and then snapped open. She shifted in her seat, drawing her legs up beneath her and let out a shaky sigh. She reached over the arm of the chair to the napkin on the bedside table and lifted a cracker to her lips; it tasted like cardboard in her mouth.

The soft rustle caught her attention. Magenta eyes, glistening in the moonlight, turned to the bed. A new pearlescent jewel, charcoal grey, rolled off the pillow. With her free left hand, she reached for it and held it up. In the wan light, the tear gem appeared the color of pitch, as dark as a moonless sky. She placed it in the porcelain bowl with others of its kind.

He jerked in his sleep. For a moment, his head lifted off the pillow before he fell back onto the mattress with a pain-filled gasp. His hand gripped her trembling fingers tighter. He sputtered. The words were never fully articulated before they turned into groans.

She leaned forward. Her left hand brushed strands of raven from his forehead. Beads of sweat ran down the side of his face.

"Shh," she cooed in his ear. Another tear gem plinked onto the pillow.

"Is there any change?"

She peered over her shoulder. Koenma's teenage form stood in the doorway. His eyes were solemn. The tears began to fall from her eyes as she shook her head. He crossed to her side in a few short steps.

"Shh, shh," he whispered. "Don't start crying just yet. He'll pull through this. And besides, you don't want to wake Kurama, do you?"

He motioned to the opposite side of the bed. Kurama had fallen asleep hours before, his head falling forward so his chin touched his chest. He was tensed, even deep in his slumber.

"I'm scared, Koenma," she confessed in a hushed tone. He nodded once.

"Don't – "

Both sets of eyes shot to his face, even Kurama flinched. His brows were knitted together, his eyes clenched tightly closed. His hand clawed at the bandages wrapped around his torso, where deep crimson was already staining through the fresh cloth. She removed her hand from his grip and hoisted herself out of the chair. Koenma watched her lean over his thrashing form and pin both his wrists to the mattress. Her aqua hair spilled over her shoulders, curtaining her face, but he heard her breathy endearments.

Several long moments passed before the struggling ceased.

She eased herself back into the chair. "He can't take much more of this. He's dying, sir."

"There's not much more we can do, I'm afraid," he whispered. There was a thick remorse in his voice; he regretted saying it as much as she did hearing it. "The rest is up to him."

He stood and straightened his clothes. After a moment's hesitation, he stooped down again and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "He'll be okay."

"Would you give these to Yukina?" she asked, nodding her head to the heaping bowl of tear gems. "I know she's still awake and it'll give her something to do."

"Of course," he nodded and picked up the bowl.

She strained her ears and listened to his steps fade down the hallway before she let her head roll back into the cushion of the chair. The faint glimmer of hope that she'd been clinging to was dwindling before her very eyes. Every shuddering breath he took, every time he cried out or a tear crystallized before her eyes – it disappeared. She grabbed his hand. Please don't leave me…please…

He squeezed her fingers.

"Botan?"

Her eyes shot open and she leaned forward, rubbing her thumb in smooth circles along the back of his hand. "I'm right here, love, right here."

His face was a mask of agony. It was almost tangible. The moments passed in unbearable silence and then he peeled his eyelid back a fraction, and a sliver of pained crimson looked up at her.

"Don't…" he tensed again, as another spasm of pain shot up his spine. "D-don't worry…about…me."

She encased his hand in both of hers and brushed his fingers against her lips. They were still caked with dried blood. "That's a very foolish thing to say. I worry about you when you're perfectly perfect, let alone when you're hurt. Don't speak, love."

He shook his head once. His eyes opened wider and she blinked. He looked almost scared. "D-don't…forget."

She froze.

For one small second, a smile settled onto his face. And then he stilled.

"Hiei?" Her heart sped up. "Hiei."

She shot to her feet. The scraping sound of the chair against the floor woke Kurama. He was beating life into the fire demon's chest before she had fully registered the fact that he was slipping away from her.

A tear slipped down her cheek. "No…"

Kurama snapped his head up. His jade were wild with panic but when he spoke, his voice was the barest whisper on the air. "Breathe for him, Botan."

She couldn't move anything. Her misty eyes were fixed on his paled face. He seemed so peaceful; he had slipped beyond the hardships that had dogged him all his life. Her heart ached – was it worth bringing him back to pain?

"Botan!" he snapped into her train of thought. "We are not going to lose anyone today, do you hear me? Please, Botan, help me…"

She blinked the moisture out of her eyes and nodded. With a fierce determination, she pressed her lips to his and breathed. Kurama was right. They weren't losing anyone today. She was going to make sure of it. Kurama continued with the compressions, watching them out of the corner of his eyes. Botan slapped the demon's cheek before she breathed again. "I haven't ferried a soul to Spirit World in almost six months, Hiei! The first one will not be the soul of someone I love! Do you hear me?"

The door opened and there was Yusuke, eyes wide. Behind him was Kuwabara, mouth ajar. Then Yukina with her plink plink tears. And then there was an unfamiliar form of a small, little child.

She stepped forward, around Yusuke and Yukina. Her ebony hair was braided down her back. Botan found herself drowning in a replica of her own bright pink eyes. The little girl smiled and said, "Hello, Mommy."

So how was my first try? I'd really appreciate some feedback...it helps my self esteem. Thanks!