"…And they lived happily ever after." Botan exclaimed with excitement to the group of children sitting in front of her. All fifteen of the children giggled and clapped, "Yay! Read it again Miss Botan!" A couple of the children shouted out, causing Botan to bite back a fit of giggles of her own, "I'm afraid I can't read it again today. I have to go, but come back next week and I'll read you another story, okay?" She watched as their little faces lit up with excitement before she stood up and headed up to the front counter of the library, passing many rows of books. She smiled at the elderly woman behind the counter and waved to her, "See you next week Genkai."
This was routine for the blue haired woman. Every Saturday she came to the library read a few stories to some of the children in the neighborhood, and then she would just sort of vanish until the next week. She'd done this for four years, no body in the city knew where she lived, what her last name was, why she was so happy or where she came from. All they knew was that she was Botan. The blue haired, smiling, mysterious woman they saw only two hours a week. But then, the hospital staff knew her quite well...
Botan left the library and felt her heart stop beating. Across the street she saw something, or rather someone, she had always feared she might run into. Long ago she had run away from a man, a man she loved with all her heart until he broke her. She felt dread swell up inside of her when he turned to her and caught her gaze. He made to walk towards her and her heart started going a mile a minute, 'I have to get out of here!' She thought desperately and bolted down an old alley way beside the library; a short cut she normally took every Saturday.
She made it down the alley and out the other end, and continued her mad dash to her next location: the hospital. The only other public place she ever went to. She didn't stop running until she was at the counter, and the nurse smiled at her. "Excited to see your kids?" She asked playfully, causing Botan to blush, "Um, yes…but I also saw someone I'm not friendly with. Are they still in the same room?" The nurse nodded and let Botan rush off to the elevator. As soon as she disappeared around the corner, she nearly screamed and fell backwards. She'd run right into the person she'd been running from.
"What are you doing here?" She asked bitterly, standing up and brushing dirt off her sleeves. "I work here now. The only question I have is why the hell did you leave?" He glared at her and she shifted from foot to foot nervously, "You should know; it's your fault. Now get out of my way, I'm here to visit someone." She pushed past him and walked into the closest elevator. He watched all the floors light up and growled to himself. 'Damn it. She's always running away.' He stomped over to the front desk and slammed his fist down, "Tell me what room Botan went to. I have a bone to pick with her."
The nurse gave him a disbelieving look; "You don't expect me to tell you that do you? I promised that nice young girl not to tell anyone. The last thing I'd do is tell some guy off the streets; you're probably the one she was running from." He growled and fought the urge to kick the desk, "I'm not just some guy from the streets, I'm the new doctor, now tell me before I lose my patience woman."
Botan hit every one of the buttons in the elevator, so she could be sure he wouldn't know where she was going. Her children were on the top floor, what she didn't want him to know was that they were his children too. It was his fault she'd left; he was a medical student at the time, and the same day she was planning to tell him that she was pregnant, he said that he didn't want children. Ever. She climbed out of the elevator and walked down the hall quietly, she didn't like to disturb the people on this floor; they were all so nice to her.
She opened the door to her children's room and was greeted by the sight of several doctors surrounding her son's bed, and her daughter crying on her own bed. Botan rushed over and touched her daughter's shoulder gently, "What's the matter honey? What's wrong with Kiyo?" Her small daughter looked her in the eyes and clung to her arm immediately, "H-he's n-not breathing!" Botan gasped and turned to the closest doctor, "What's wrong with my son?! Why isn't he breathing!" Her daughter let go of her arm and she rushed over to Kiyo's bedside, and grabbed his hand. "Kiyo? Kiyo you wake up right now!" She fought back the tears that threatened to fall and kissed her sons hand softly, praying for him to start breathing and wake up. One of the doctors put an oxygen mask on his face and for a minute they watched as his chest began to rise and fall. Botan gasped and tightened her grip on his hand, "You can do it Kiyo, mommy believes in you. Come on, now open your eyes for mommy." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, his eyes flickered open and someone walked into the room.
Botan turned toward the door and groaned, it was him, "Can't you just leave me alone? I'm very busy here!" She shifted to block Kiyo from his view and watched him scowl, "No, we need to talk, now get out here." Botan looked back at her son, who was now gripping her hand tightly, "Mommy don't go!" She bent down and kissed his forehead, "I'll be back in just a minute baby. Mica will come sit with you 'kay?" The little black haired boy nodded and squeezed his mother's hand before letting her go talk to the strange new doctor-man.
As soon as they were in the hall he turned around and asked her suspiciously, "Whose kids are those?" She crossed her arms defensively, "None of your business. That's whose" She couldn't bear to tell him the truth although she knew he'd find out eventually. He scowled and decided to let it slide, he hadn't spent four years tracking her down to fight. "Why did you leave?" She dropped her gaze to the floor and didn't answer. He hadn't even figured it out yet? She left him four years ago! How in hell did he become a doctor?
"Botan, answer me! I did not spend four years looking for you just so you could refuse to answer me!" He was hurt that she wouldn't even look at him; he had never stopped loving her, he had never stopped hoping that she loved him. She sighed and slumped against the wall. "It was something you said. Now leave the children alone okay and me while you're at it!" He remembered the day she left like the back of his hand; it had haunted his every dream for four years. The only unusual thing he'd done was that dare…Kurama, his friend from school, had dared him to tell his girlfriend he didn't want… 'Oh hell no…' His jaw dropped and he stared at her in shock. "You don't mean…that thing about not wanting kids. Please tell me it wasn't that!"
She looked up at him briefly before walking away, "What do you think?" She whispered, walking into the room where her children were cuddled together on one bed. He watched her walk away and ran his hands through his black spiky hair, "Damnit!" He shouted, punching the wall beside him, "Botan come back here!" He almost followed her into the room when he caught the eyes of a long, red haired doctor who was at the other end of the hallway. "Kurama." He said coldly, changing his direction for the person who had ruined his life. "Well, well, well, Hiei. How nice to see you again my friend." Kurama said cheerfully, completely unaware that Hiei had just figured out his little prank.
"You. You asshole!" Hiei ran towards Kurama, ready to punch him when Botan stepped out of her room. She saw Hiei, her Hiei, about to punch out the doctor that had saved her daughters life the week before and she screamed in frustration, "Don't you dare. Hiei, if you touch that doctor I…well I don't know what there is that I could still do to hurt you, but don't you dare hurt that man! If it weren't for him Mica would be dead!" Hiei froze about a foot away from Kurama and shot a glare at the red head, "This isn't over by a long shot; you're going to pay for what you did Kurama." He said with a snarl and stalked off to the elevator, fuming about the whole day.
Botan turned her attention to the red haired doctor and scowled, "I wouldn't get on his bad side if I were you. He doesn't always just walk away like that." She went back into her children's room and shut the door behind her. Kurama stood in the hall for a moment before the events sunk in. Hiei had figured it out; finally. "Oh shit I am so dead…"
Heh...I wanted to make the chapter longer, I have most of the story done, but I think this one will have some shorter chapters, in contrast to most of my other stories.